The Lakers have struggled mightily through 18 games, and trade chatter surrounding the team is beginning to pick up
After a win Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards, the Los Angeles Lakers are now 3-15 on the season.
While expectations were never high for this young Lakers team, priorities shifted drastically when Kobe Bryant announced his retirement Sunday afternoon.
That said, despite popular belief that the Lakers are solely focused on Kobe Bryant’s retirement tour and patiently building for the future, recent reports suggest otherwise.
1/2: Colin Cowherd on @TheHerd, according to his sources, there's strong sense Lakers prioritize Julius Randle but.. pic.twitter.com/FZLuHji6oP
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 3, 2015
Per Colin Cowherd, formerly with ESPN, now with Fox Sports, the Lakers would be willing to part with any of their young core, sans Julius Randle.
In regards to D’Angelo Russell, Cowherd revealed,
"They think D’Angelo Russell, within two years, could be really special. They don’t think he’s going to be special this year, and they don’t think he’s going to be special next year. They think he’s two years from being a very special player. They don’t want to wait."
2/2: @ColinCowherd continuing... sources tell him Lakers would trade young players to get stars in the offseason: pic.twitter.com/WRMSdSdZMt
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 3, 2015
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If this is true, the Lakers organization has learned nothing from their past failures and still believe that making moves to win-now is an acceptable way to run a team, but it’s not.
The Lakers shortsightedly traded for Steve Nash and look where that has gotten them in trouble in terms of draft picks — two years in a row their first round pick has been owed to the Philadelphia 76ers.
In Chris Broussard fashion, Cowherd never revealed his sauces sources, but he sounded adamant about the things he was saying. He’s no Broussard, but he’s no Wojnarowski either, so proceed with caution.
"The Lakers would trade three of them, they’d like to keep Julius Randle, they’d move the other three to rebuild it with multiple free agents and Randle’s the only one they really truly believe is ready very quickly to be on a really good NBA team."
Cowherd references three young players in addition to Julius Randle. D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson are givens, so who’s the fourth Beatle? Larry Nance Jr.?
The Lakers are at a crossroads and must choose their next decisions wisely or risk being set back another 10 years in the rebuilding process. Hopefully, the rumors are just that, rumors.
S/O to Serena Winters for the video.
Next: Adjusting to Life Without Kobe Bryant
What do you think about the latest rumor involving the Los Angeles Lakers?