Los Angeles Lakers

Magic Johnson laid out his expectations for D'Angelo Russell in a note

Published Feb. 22, 2017 7:57 p.m. ET

Nunzio Ingrassia

It’s a worrisome time of the year for many NBA players, less than 24 hours from Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline. There must be a number of nervous players on the Los Angeles Lakers one day after their front-office shakeup and seeing their leading scorer – Lou Williams – shipped to the Rockets.

But Magic Johnson apparently tried to quell some of those fears Wednesday. The Lakers new president of basketball operations sent a note to second-year guard D’Angelo Russell with one objective – return the Lakers to their winning ways.

https://twitter.com/LakersReporter/status/834548756838182912

Now does this mean Russell will be on the roster after the deadline? Only Magic knows that for sure. The 20-year-old has missed some time this season with knee and calf injuries, and his numbers haven’t significantly improved from his rookie year, averaging 14.2 points and 4.7 assists on 39 percent shooting this season.

Will Johnson keep Russell and the rest of the young roster together if a superstar is dangled in front of him? We’ll soon find out.