The Los Angeles Lakers are preparing to be without their superstar for a while. LeBron James has missed the Lakers last two games and will miss their game on Sunday at the Atlanta Hawks, as well. James has already returned to Los Angeles due to swelling in his left knee.

Lakers coach Frank Vogel said about James, "As long as the swelling is there, he's going to be out."

James previously missed two weeks in November due to an abdominal strain. Now, he'll be on the shelf indefinitely with the swelling in his left knee.

The Lakers have gone 5-9 without James this season. Entering play on Sunday, Los Angeles finds themselves 24-26 and in ninth place in the Western Conference.

LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook decided last offseason that they wanted to play together and the trio appears to have no option other than to figure out how do do it.

"It's not like [Westbrook's] a tradable player where if it's not working out you just move on; everybody in the NBA knows that," one team source said. "So it's got to work. This is the only option. There is no Plan B for this season."

The Lakers traded virtually all their remaining assets to the Washington Wizards for Westbrook.

As one Lakers insider said, "There is no light at the end of the tunnel."

Westbrook was benched last week in what could be a crossroads moment for him.

Rob Pelinka met with Westbrook for nearly two hours when the Lakers landed in Orlando on Thursday.

Frank Vogel too has met individually with Westbrook several times throughout the season to try to find ways to help him feel more comfortable and succeed on the court, according to team sources.

James and Davis speak to him regularly, as well.

"Constantly," one team source said. "They're talking to Russ constantly."

The Los Angeles Lakers are unwilling to include their 2027 first round pick in a possible trade of Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for John Wall.

Houston is interested in a trade of Wall for Westbrook, but only if they're incentivized to do so.

The Lakers aren't convinced Wall will be a meaningful upgrade, while surrounding a valuable trade chip. The Lakers also don't want to pay a premium to move on from Westbrook so soon after sending a number of assets to the Washington Wizards for him.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis encouraged the Lakers to trade for Westbrook rather than a deal Rob Pelinka had negotiated with the Sacramento Kings for Buddy Hield.

The Lakers still also hope that Westbrook could have a successful second half of the season, similar to his lone year with the Washington Wizards. 

Stanley Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a two-year deal.

Johnson's final 10-day contract with the Lakers expires on Wednesday. Johnson has averaged 6.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 21.2 minutes over 14 games with the Lakers.

Johnson's deal will be guaranteed for the rest of the season.

Anthony Davis is likely to return from his MCL sprain on Tuesday night at the Brooklyn Nets.

Davis has been out for over a month with the injury.

In 27 games this season, Davis is averaging 23.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.0 blocks.

The Houston Rockets have received calls from a handful of teams about potentially trading for John Wall, sources told Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

Wall has a $47 million player option for the 22-23 season.

The Los Angeles Clippers expressed genuine interest in Wall earlier in the season, but there is some confusion as to their objectives heading into the deadline period.

As for the Los Angeles Lakers interest of a Russell Westbrook trade for Wall, the Rockets would require a 2027 first round pick.

Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis is nearing a return to action. Davis was upgraded to questionable for the Lakers game at the Miami Heat on Sunday. Los Angeles said Davis will be a game-time decision on playing vs Miami.

Davis has been out since spraining the MCL in his left knee in a game at the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 17. The Lakers went on to lose that game and have gone 7-9 without their All-Star big man.

The Los Angeles Lakers continue to survey the league for ways to upgrade their roster. Recently, Los Angeles offered a 2027 first-round pick, Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn as a package to the Detroit Pistons for Jerami Grant. The Pistons are holding out for more for their best player.

The offer of a pick, plus Horton-Tucker and Nunn, is the best the Lakers can do in trade talks. They aren't trading LeBron James or Anthony Davis. Russell Westbrook isn't someone teams are interested in without being paid to take on his contract. The remainder of the Los Angeles players are on minimum contracts.

2027 is the first year the Lakers have a first-round pick available to trade. Los Angeles still owes two picks to the New Orleans Pelicans. The latter of those picks can be conveyed as early as 2024, but the Pelicans can also defer the right to acquire that pick until 2025. That limits the Lakers to 2027 as the first year they have a first-round available in trade.

In a rare interview, Russell Westbrook spoke with Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN about his fourth quarter benching in the Los Angeles Lakers' loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

"Surprised, yes," said Westbrook when asked if Frank Vogel's decision was a surprise. "I was disappointed I didn't go back in, but I'm more disappointed that we lost the damn game.

"I want to be able to be on the floor to help my teammates and be able to help our team win in games like that -- but that was a decision that was made."

Westbrook wanted to make clear he's committed to making it work with the Lakers.

"Ultimately, you have to be OK when s--- doesn't go well, and I'm OK," Westbrook told ESPN. "I've done everything that's been asked of me here, and I'll continue to do so and ride this out as long as we can toward our ultimate goal -- and that's to win a championship.

"We obviously haven't been fully healthy, but I'm committed to making this thing work. The communication is there with everybody in the organization to make this thing work, to make this team we all want it to be in the future.

"I have accepted everything that has been asked of me and tried to do it to the best of my ability. I'm not the ultimate decision-maker of if it's working -- or if it's not working. I'm OK with sacrificing some of the things that I've been able to do in this game to win, because that's the most important part of this game. I've done everything they've asked me to do to this point."

The Houston Rockets would be interested in trading John Wall for Russell Westbrook if they were incentivized, sources tell Marc Stein of Substack.

The Rockets traded for Westbrook during the 2019 offseason and then traded him for Wall in 2020 in which they received a first round pick.

With Wall not currently playing and no buyout on the horizon, the Rockets are unlikely to find another trade option before his contract expires in 2023. Houston would seek "sufficient draft compensation" for taking on Westbrook, who has struggled with his first on the Lakers' roster. The Lakers could offer their 2027 first round pick or multiple second rounders. Westbrook wouldn't play for the Rockets, just as Wall hasn't played since last season.

The scenario is described by Stein as unlikely between now and Feb. 10th.

The Lakers gave up a first round pick plus three rotation players in Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell in order to acquire Westbrook from the Washington Wizards.