Little has went right for the Lakers this season, but kicking off the tumultuous regular season was the injury to rookie Julius Randle, which sidelined him for the season. Fans were eager to see the already flashy superstar develop under the bright lights of the Staples Center, but were instead reserved to the horror and despair of seeing him stretchered off the court in obvious pain.
Heading into the off-season, Randle will be one of the key pieces of the Lakers as they try to rebuild. However, in Grantland’s Zach Lowe column today about the state of the purple and gold, he insinuated that the Lakers may look to deal Randle and their first round pick this summer.
"The Lakers could accelerate the rebuild in the meantime. They could sign an impact guy this summer. They will keep the pick they owe Phoenix if it falls within the top five, and if that happens, lots of rival executives wonder if the Lakers will combine that pick with Randle in trade talks for a star."
The immediate response to this should be complete dismissal. Among many reasons, there is no superstar out there open to being traded that could equal the hole the Lakers would leave with Randle and another top-five pick.
Players like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook come to mind as young superstars worth trading for, but both could be gotten with giving up assets within the coming years.
Certainly it’s speculation on Lowe’s part, but if this is a serious consideration of the Lakers, then they’re far more delusional than anyone thought.
Do you think the Lakers should pull off a similar trade this summer? Let us know in the comments below!