The Los Angeles Lakers are exploring trade possibilities for rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell, according to a report.
Brian Geltzeiler of hoopscritic.com said Thursday that he has spoken to sources around the league who claim the Lakers have made Russell available.
In taking to people around the league on who has been made available in trade talks a very surprising name has come up: DeAngelo Russell
— Brian Geltzeiler (@hoopscritic) January 28, 2016
The report is quite surprising, and it is difficult to believe for many reasons. The most obvious is that the Lakers used the No. 2 overall pick on Russell in the NBA Draft back in June. Russell is just 19, and he has already shown flashes of brilliance on the court. With Kobe Bryant set to retire, many believe Russell could be the future of the franchise.
That said, Russell has had some issues with Lakers coach Byron Scott this season. Scott has publicly criticized Russell multiple times, and the coach had some harsh comments for the youngster after Tuesday’s loss.
But would the team look to trade a potential superstar in the making because Scott isn’t getting along with him? L.A. has won just nine games this season — the second-worst total in the NBA — and the expectation is that Scott could be fired and possibly replaced with a fan favorite before next year.
The Lakers are going to have a high pick in next year’s draft. Their best bet is probably to keep Russell, try to sign a big-name free agent (Kevin Durant, anyone) and use the pick to draft another impact player. Any trade involving Russell would be a stunner.
