D’Angelo Russell Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Trade Rumors: R. Williams, Knicks, Lakers, Hawks, Wizards

January 23rd, 2024 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers center Robert Williams won’t play again this season after undergoing knee surgery in November, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s off the table in trade talks. Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT suggested during the latest episode of the #thisleague UNCUT podcast that Williams is a trade candidate to watch.

“There are some teams that are pondering making a move for Robert Williams,” Haynes said (hat tip to Blazer’s Edge). “Now, I know Robert Williams is out for the season, had another surgery on his right knee. But teams feel like he would be somebody they could get on the cheap right now and allow him to continue recovering, continue rehabbing in hopes that next season he can blossom back into the Robert Williams that we’ve seen when he was playing at a high level with the Boston Celtics.”

Williams was one of the players acquired by Portland in October’s Jrue Holiday deal with the Celtics. While he has shown some promise in his first few years in the NBA, is still just 26 years old, and is on a multiyear contract, there was a sense that the Blazers could be willing to flip the big man to a new team, given that they already have their center of the future in Deandre Ayton. Haynes confirms that’s the case.

“The Blazers will be very open (to moving Williams),” Haynes said. “That’s not up for debate. They’ll be very open. If they feel like they can get the right deal in place, they’re open. The Blazers, they’re in a youth movement right now, so they have nothing but time on their side. Some players don’t fit the development arc of most of the youth they have on that team. Robert Williams is somebody who is definitely available, given the right price.”

While Haynes didn’t specify exactly which teams are potential suitors for Williams, he noted that Ime Udoka is “very fond” of the big man after coaching him in Boston and speculated that the Rockets could have interest.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

Discussing the Knicks‘ approach to the trade deadline on the Katz and Shoot podcast, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports said Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon is the player he has heard most frequently linked to New York (Twitter video link). Fred Katz of The Athletic cited Pistons guard Alec Burks as another player the Knicks had their eye on and confirmed the team has looked into Dejounte Murray, but isn’t sure whether that interest in the Hawks guard is serious or just a matter of the Knicks doing their due diligence.
Murray, Bruce Brown, Terry Rozier, and Tyus Jones are potential Lakers trade targets to keep an eye on, Shams Charania of The Athletic said during FanDuel’s Run it Back show (Twitter video link). The team’s interest in all four guards has been previously reported.
Charania also confirms a previous report about the Lakers and Hawks discussing Murray, adding that a pick swap was part of those negotiations. The talks stalled due to Atlanta’s desire to reroute D’Angelo Russell to a third team, but Charania expects the two teams to resume those discussions before the trade deadline.
Only one Wizards player is truly off-limits in trade talks at this season’s deadline, according to Charania (Twitter video link): 2023 lottery pick Bilal Coulibaly. Washington would be open to inquiries on anyone else on the roster.

Los Angeles Notes: Russell, James, Westbrook, Harden

January 22nd, 2024 at 10:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

If the Lakers make a major move before the trade deadline, D’Angelo Russell could be part of the package. He’s on a two-year contract that includes an $18.7MM player option.

Russell’s strong recent play shows that he’s not distracted by trade rumors, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register notes. The veteran guard averaging 27.2 points on 55.9% shooting and 6.4 assists in his last five games since being reinserted into the starting lineup.

“You’ve got to be aggressive around these guys,” Russell said, referring to Anthony Davis and LeBron James. “You complement these guys by being aggressive – not passing to them. That’s easy to guard. You’re easy to guard when it’s like that. Just watching it and watching a lot of guys on the team make those decisions, when I came back, I was like ‘I’m going to be aggressive in those instances’ and I’ll see how it complements them. And it’s been complementing them so far.”

We have more on the Los Angeles teams:

The Lakers and Clippers will square off on Tuesday but a key player won’t suit up. James has been ruled out by the Lakers due to left ankle soreness, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. It will be James’ fifth missed game this season. The Lakers have a 2-2 record without him.
Clippers guard Russell Westbrook had a 23-point outing in the comeback victory against the Nets, his largest output since a 24-point game against the Lakers on Nov. 1. Westbrook essentially played center in a small-ball lineup on Sunday during the rally. “I’ve been emphasizing defensively for me, it’s huge this year,” Westbrook told Law Murray of The Athletic. “Guarding one through five, no matter what it is. Position, time, score, possession. Being help side. Rebounding, boxing out. All the small things that need to be done. I’ll do it. Whatever it takes to win basketball games. And tonight, my job was to guard the five and do a great job of being in coverage, reading defenses, communicating. And, you know, I did the best of my abilities to be able to close the game out.”
James Harden feels vindicated after forcing his way out of Philadelphia and demanding a trade to the Clippers. Many people were skeptical how Harden would fit in with the Clippers’ stars but the team has surged up the Western Conference standings. “Obviously it didn’t start off well,” said Harden, per Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. “It gave people so much to talk about in a negative way and now those people that were talking are nowhere to be found. Like, literally nowhere to be found.”

Lakers Notes: Russell, Reddish, Hachimura, Prince

January 22nd, 2024 at 7:56am CST by Arthur Hill

If D’Angelo Russell is leaving the Lakers before the February 8 trade deadline, he’s doing his best to raise his value on the way out, writes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. Russell had 34 points and eight assists in Sunday’s romp over Portland and has averaged 27.2 PPG while shooting nearly 54% from three-point range since being reinserted into the starting lineup five games ago.

“I’ve always been like that, recognizing my superpower,” Russell said. “Everybody in the league has one. It might be defensive or just a motor but everyone has one. For me, ever since I was a young kid, I always found myself kinda getting hot throughout the game where I might score five, six points right away. Maybe score 10 in a quarter or something like that and score 10, 12 points the last three minutes of the game. It’s just my superpower.”

The contract Russell signed last summer has led to the trade speculation because it’s a valuable tool for salary-matching purposes. Russell is making $17.3MM this season with an $18.7MM player option for 2024/25 and is a strong candidate to be included in any significant deal. But Woike notes that the Lakers looked fine on Sunday if they decide to hold onto their point guard.

“Tonight was one of the most complete games I’ve seen him play since he’s been back in the Laker uniform,” coach Darvin Ham said of Russell. “He was great on defense, great with his activity, great on and off the ball offensively. He was huge.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

Cam Reddish played 21 minutes Sunday night as he returned to the court after sitting out a week to recover from a left knee effusion, notes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. The rest also helped Reddish heal from a groin injury, and he said he plans to keep working on rehab so he doesn’t have to miss more time. “I definitely have to stay on top of it, for sure,” Reddish said. “But it’s just feeling a lot better. I mean, in general, I just feel a lot better, you know what I mean? Just a few days made all the difference. So, hopefully we can keep that going.”
With Taurean Prince sidelined by left knee soreness, Ham was forced to make another change to his starting lineup, Turner adds. Ham opted for more offense this time as Rui Hachimura rejoined the starting five. “Rui stepped in and made a huge impact,” Ham said. “He was really, really good in his minutes.”
Prince is considered day-to-day, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Ham said Prince “has been fighting through some pain for some time now” and there’s hope that a night off will help.

Lakers Rumors: Murray, D-Lo, Hood-Schifino, Reaves, More

January 19th, 2024 at 1:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The buzz connecting Hawks guard Dejounte Murray to the Lakers has increased to “noisy levels” as of late, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, who hears that the two teams have discussed possible frameworks for a trade.

One concept the Lakers and Hawks talked about late last week would’ve included guard D’Angelo Russell, rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino, the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick, and additional draft compensation, multiple team and league sources tell Buha.

Los Angeles can only currently trade one future first-rounder (either the 2029 or 2030 pick), so any additional draft assets would’ve been second-rounders. Plus, as Michael Scotto reported on Thursday, Atlanta has little interest in Russell, so he may need to be rerouted to a third team.

Talks between Los Angeles and Atlanta have since stalled, but the two clubs are expected to revisit those negotiations prior to the February 8 trade deadline, says Buha.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Unless an unexpected opportunity arises, the Lakers are expected to take at least a couple more weeks to evaluate their trade assets and options before pulling the trigger on any deal, according to Buha. As Buha explains, the team would like to address various needs – including three-point shooting, speed, and athleticism – but is still weighing whether it makes more sense to make a smaller move or to do something bigger that would more significantly reshape the rotation.
No Lakers players besides Anthony Davis and LeBron James are untouchable, but Jarred Vanderbilt is ineligible to be dealt this season and Austin Reaves is “close” to being off the table, says Buha. Team and league sources tell The Athletic that L.A. values Reaves highly and has no interest in moving him, even though almost every trade discussion starts with a prospective trade partner asking for Reaves and a first-round pick. If the Lakers were to part with Reaves, they’d want the deal to net them a clear All-Star (ie. someone a tier above Murray or Zach LaVine) or multiple rotation upgrades, Buha adds.
Russell, Rui Hachimura, and Gabe Vincent are generally considered to have neutral-to-negative trade value, per Buha. Second-year guard Max Christie is viewed by some teams as an underrated three-and-D prospect, but the Lakers would prefer to keep him, Buha notes.
The Lakers, who had interest in Bruce Brown during the offseason, would still be interested in Brown if the Raptors make him available, Buha reports. Other potential targets the Lakers have discussed in recent weeks include Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant, Hornets guard Terry Rozier, Raptors wing Gary Trent Jr., and Nets forwards Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale, says Buha.

Lakers Notes: Irving, LeBron, Russell, Reaves, Lineup

January 18th, 2024 at 7:43pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving had interest in reuniting with LeBron James in either Dallas or Los Angeles over the offseason, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. Irving said as much to James before the Lakers‘ first-round Game 6 against the Grizzlies last year.

As detailed by Shelburne, the Lakers had internal discussions about whether to pursue Irving via trade or free agency last year and had called the Nets several times since June 2022, when Irving and the Nets didn’t come to terms on a contract extension. James was open to the idea of pairing up again with Irving, but didn’t want to push anything while the franchise was still recovering from the Russell Westbrook experiment, Shelburne writes.

The Mavericks held Irving’s Bird Rights and were determined to keep him and Luka Doncic together, re-signing him to a three-year, $126MM deal. After bringing back Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura and signing the likes of Taurean Prince, Gabe Vincent and Cam Reddish, there was internal debate about whether or not the Lakers had the speed to keep up with the top guards of the Western Conference, but they decided it wasn’t a concern to address at the time, according to Shelburne.

Flash forward several months and Irving has avoided any off-court incidents that plagued him in Brooklyn while James and Anthony Davis are enjoying a healthy season at the top of their game. However, the Lakers lack consistent point guard play. The Mavericks sit at 24-18 and seventh in the west entering Thursday while the Lakers are 21-21, and 10th in the standings.

With the trade deadline approaching, the Lakers have roster questions to sort out to help alleviate some of the burden for James and Davis moving forward, Shelburne writes.

“It’s just too much on Bron right now,” one rival player whose team recently defeated the Lakers said. “Everyone is just going to pack the paint and try to frustrate him because they need a lot. Speed. Play-making. Shooting.”

We have more from the Lakers:

The Lakers recently turned back to their opening-night starting five for the foreseeable future after coach Darvin Ham experimented with lineups through the first half of the season. That means Reaves and D’Angelo Russell are once again starting next to each other, and the team is hoping that duo can be a catalyst for future success, Khobi Price of The Orange County Register writes. While Reaves and Russell have complementary skill sets, Price writes the defense needs some cleaning up if the Lakers want to start stacking wins.
That lineup is helping the Lakers reach a new offensive ceiling, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. After beating the Mavericks on Wednesday, Los Angeles has won four of its last six games after dropping 10 of its previous 13. Buha writes the ball movement and aggression were elements of L.A.’s offense that stood out in that game. The Lakers also boast an improved offensive rating since making the switch back to their original starting five. “We’re just moving the basketball,” Davis said. “Trying to play the right way. When we share the basketball, good things tend to happen.“
When asked if his team needs to make trades before the deadline, James said he doesn’t “play fantasy basketball,” tweets ESPN’s David McMenamin. “It’s too disrespectful to think about what we need or what we don’t have,” James said. “I don’t do that to my teammates. We’ve been putting in the work and that’s what we’ve got to continue to do.“

Latest On Dejounte Murray

January 18th, 2024 at 4:19pm CST by Rory Maher

Hawks guard Dejounte Murray has reportedly drawn plenty of trade interest this season, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski previously stated he believes there’s a very good chance the former All-Star will be moved prior to the February 8 deadline.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype evaluates the teams that have been linked to Murray and offers new intel on the 27-year-old’s market. For example, league sources tell Scotto that in a potential Murray deal, in addition to acquiring draft and player assets, Atlanta does not want to take on salary beyond the 2023/24 season.

A Lakers deal for Murray would likely include D’Angelo Russell, according to Scotto’s sources, but the Hawks aren’t interested in Russell — they’d have to be able to flip him to a third team in that scenario. As Scotto explains, Russell has a $18.9MM player option for 2024/25 and isn’t viewed as a viable fit alongside another offense-first guard in Trae Young.

The Hawks did inquire about Austin Reaves in talks with L.A., but Scotto confirms the Lakers shot down that idea. Reaves is in the first season of a four-year contract — it’s unclear if Atlanta would want to keep the 25-year-old guard or potentially flip him as well.

As first reported by Scotto, the Knicks have looked into Murray. However, due to their strong play of late after acquiring OG Anunoby, Scotto hears New York doesn’t want to meet Atlanta’s asking price. The Nets also haven’t been inclined to offer a minimum of two first-round picks for Murray, per Scotto.

For various reasons, the Sixers, Pistons and Heat — three other teams linked to Murray — aren’t viewed as great fits, Scotto writes. It’s unclear what the Spurs are thinking this early in their rebuild, but Murray did say on Monday that he would welcome the opportunity to play for his former team and coach.

Lakers Revert To Opening Night Lineup, Intend To Stick With It

January 16th, 2024 at 9:05am CST by Luke Adams

Against the Thunder on Monday, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham turned back to the starting lineup that he used to open the season: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Taurean Prince.

That was the Lakers’ starting group for five of the first seven games of the season, including the first four. However, those players hadn’t started together since November 6, as Ham first moved Reaves to the bench and later did the same with Russell. After Los Angeles came away with a 112-105 victory over Oklahoma City, Ham indicated he plans to stick with his original starting five going forward, writes ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

“Just wanted to put as much skill and shot-making on the floor around our two captains,” Ham said, referring to James and Davis. “And those five, they’ve been pretty much our most consistent guys throughout the season thus far. So just put them together. For the foreseeable future, that’s going to be our lineup, barring any type of injury.”

The Lakers have used 11 different starting lineups so far this season, leaning most frequently on a group consisting of James, Davis, Russell, Prince, and Cam Reddish. Reddish is a stronger defender than Reaves, but didn’t provide as much on the offensive end of the court. He’s currently unavailable due to a knee issue.

Los Angeles also experimented with a starting five that featured Reaves in Russell’s place alongside the two star forwards, Prince, and Reddish, but that group has posted a -13.2 net rating in 99 minutes of action. The opening night lineup, which Ham turned back to on Monday, has a +1.3 rating in 150 total minutes.

In spite of Monday’s impressive victory, the Lakers remain below .500 (20-21) at the season’s midpoint and are feeling a sense of urgency to pick up some more wins during their current stretch of games in L.A., writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. That stretch of games, which includes four more home games and a “road” contest vs. the Clippers, runs through next Thursday.

Last season, a series of moves at the trade deadline helped kick-start the Lakers to a second-half surge and two playoff series wins, but Ham doesn’t necessarily think the team needs to seek out similar moves this winter.

“People talk about trades and this and that. No one’s sugarcoating anything. You have an opportunity to get better, you’re going take advantage of it,” Ham said, per McMenamin. “But that said, what we have in that locker room, we just need to buckle down, focus, take care of the details. We have more than enough in that locker room to make some things happen.”

Lakers Notes: Davis, LeBron, Russell, Hachimura, Reddish

January 14th, 2024 at 10:47am CST by Arthur Hill

After getting off to a 19-21 start last season, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka was able to remake the team before the trade deadline. He’ll face the same challenge this year as L.A. has an identical record at the 40-game mark following Saturday’s loss at Utah.

The difference, as Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times points out, is that the Lakers were already moving in the right direction by the middle of last season, winning five in a row to reach 19-21. Saturday’s loss was their 12th in their last 17 games as they’ve fallen into 11th place in the Western Conference.

“I don’t remember last year at the 40-game mark,” Anthony Davis said. “But I think for us right now, we’re not in a bad spot. It could be worse. Just our injuries just piled up over and over. As soon as we think we get a couple guys back, guys go down. So that’s the toughest thing, but we still have enough to win basketball games. Even though (LeBron James) doesn’t play, we have enough to win. But we just got to keep going — 40 games, 42 left. We got to make a push. These next five or six games at home are going to be a big stretch of games for us.”

The latest injury issue involves James, who missed his fourth game of the season Saturday due to pain in his left ankle. Davis took on more play-making responsibilities in James’ absence, posting his second career triple-double with 15 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists, but he still felt like he didn’t do enough.

“Everyone did their job except me. I didn’t do my job,” Davis said. “Obviously, Bron was out and everyone has to step up and those guys did. Except myself. So this one’s on me.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

D’Angelo Russell returned to the starting lineup Saturday, making his first start since coach Darvin Ham shook up his rotation 10 games ago, Turner writes. Russell responded with his best game of the season, delivering 39 points and eight assists while shooting 15-of-26 from the field and 6-of-11 from three-point range. “I mean, it’s just fun. Just hoopin’, as simple as that,” Russell said. “They had some coverages that tried to take AD out the game, allowed us to play off the catch-and-attack closeouts all game. We missed some. We made some. I thought we had a lot of good looks. Just try to take this aggression and add it to the next game.”
Rui Hachimura returned after missing five games with a strained left calf and didn’t wear the mask he had been using since undergoing nasal surgery, Turner adds. Hachimura talked to Dave McMenamin of ESPN about the need for more energy in the first quarter because rival teams are so focused on beating the Lakers (video link).
Cam Reddish had to leave the game in the second half due to soreness in his left knee, tweets Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Knee pain also forced Reddish out of Thursday’s game, and Ham said the team will have a “definitive plan by Monday going forward” on how to handle his condition.

Latest On Dejounte Murray

January 11th, 2024 at 2:28pm CST by Rory Maher

Hawks guard Dejounte Murray has a “substantial” group of teams interested in his services in early trade talks around the NBA, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who hears from sources who say Atlanta seems focused on retooling its roster for a playoff push rather than rebuilding.

As Fischer explains, the Spurs continue to be linked to Murray, but they likely don’t have the types of players that would appeal to Atlanta in a possible deal. The Bulls discussed the concept of a Zach LaVine trade for Murray, but the Hawks didn’t show much interest in that idea, sources tell Fischer.

Multiple league personnel view the Nets as an “ideal” landing spot from Murray’s side of the equation, but Brooklyn hasn’t had serious conversations about Murray, and the team doesn’t seem to be actively pursuing him right now, says Fischer.

Fischer hears rivals view Murray as a “true plus” on defense, though his reputation on that end “may have been overstated” in recent seasons. Murray’s four-year, $111MM+ contract extension (it kicks in next season) is viewed as relatively team-friendly, given the 27-year-old’s talent level, Fischer adds.

According to Fischer, the Hawks have been aggressive in reaching out to opposing teams “with actual trade concepts” instead of “general interest in specific players.” Five teams are viewed as Murray suitors ahead of the trade deadline: the Lakers, Knicks, Sixers, Heat and Pistons.

Here’s more from Fischer on Murray and his potential suitors:

The Lakers continue to say they don’t want to trade Austin Reaves, sources tell Fischer. A deal for Murray could transpire if they include Reaves, according to Fischer, but L.A. may want Atlanta to sweeten the pot a little too in that scenario. D’Angelo Russell, on the other hand, has not been valued by rival teams in trade discussions.
The Knicks are looking for depth at point guard and center, per Fischer. While recent reports have indicated that Murray’s agent — Rich Paul of Klutch Sports — would prefer not to deal with New York, Fischer hears Murray is “in favor of a fresh start,” and those same reports said Paul would help facilitate a deal if his client asked for it. Still, Fischer wonders if the fit of Murray and Jalen Brunson would be any more fruitful than Murray’s pairing with Trae Young. The Hawks have valued Quentin Grimes in previous trade talks, Fischer adds.
The Sixers aren’t in a rush to move their draft assets, sources tell Fischer, but they have been “conducting due diligence” on point guards, though Wizards veteran Tyus Jones doesn’t appear to be on their list. Fischer suggests if Philadelphia and Atlanta do discuss Murray, a deal probably won’t come together until closer to the deadline. The Sixers aren’t expected to be trade suitors for Zach LaVine or Pascal Siakam, Fischer reports.
The Heat appear to be looking for ball-handlers, so Murray makes some sense, but Fischer hears the two Southeast rivals haven’t had any “substantive” talks after initial conversations.
The Pistons sit in last place, but their historically inept season could make them more willing to consider bold moves, Fischer writes, noting that Detroit is also interested in Siakam. Still, “smaller tweaks” are considered a more likely outcome, per Fischer.

L.A. Notes: LeBron, Ham, Leonard, Lue, Russell

January 8th, 2024 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

In need of a signature win to turn their season around, the Lakers hope they got it Sunday night against the cross-town Clippers, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Coming into yesterday’s game, the Lakers had been slumping badly, with just a 3-10 record since winning the in-season tournament. LeBron James, who sparked the victory with a game-high 25 points, said the team needs to move past the mistakes that have led to losing.

“Try to use this to try to catapult a little bit better play from us,” he said. “But it still doesn’t take away from the fact of how we’ve been playing like the last 11, 12 games. Tonight was a good start. Hopefully we can start from here and continue to build.”

The win should ease the pressure on Darvin Ham amid recent rumors that his security as Lakers’ head coach is starting to be shaky. Ham, who told reporters before the game that he doesn’t feel like he’s coaching for his job, was happy with how the team responded to adversity.

“Everybody contributed, competed at a very high level,” Ham said. “And I’m proud of them. Now the cat’s out the bag for this one, in terms of how we need to approach each and every game and everybody do it as a committee.”

There’s more from Los Angeles:

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said a minutes restriction is the reason Kawhi Leonard was pulled from the game with 2:47 remaining, McMenamin states in the same story. Leonard, who recently missed four games with a left hip contusion, didn’t return until there were 17 seconds left to play. “He was close to his minutes restriction, and we got a back-to-back tomorrow,” Lue explained. “We got five games in eight days, so my thought was we need him in the game [earlier in the fourth] because the game kind of got away from us a little bit. … He had to play his extended minutes early in the quarter instead of late in the quarter. So that’s on me as a decision that I made to get him in early to come back.”
The Clippers have been on a roll lately, but James believes it’s more attributable to Lue’s guidance than the trade for James Harden, McMenamin adds. “Nah, it’s the T-Lue Clippers,” James said. “I know T-Lue very well. It don’t take T-Lue long to make sure s–t get right. It took him five games, and they’ve been cooking since.”
The Lakers were boosted by the return of D’Angelo Russell, who was back on the court after missing three games with a bruised tailbone, per Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Russell, who started 28 straight games before being moved to a reserve role, came off the bench again Sunday with 13 points and six assists. Russell left without talking to reporters, but Ham said his presence makes a difference. “Obviously, a guy that can orchestrate things, a guy that can stretch the floor, just his 3-point shooting ability and his ability to make shots,” Ham said. “You can’t have too much of that on your team. He definitely provides that.”