Despite all the denials and attempts to brush them off, the LA Lakers keep getting involved in NBA trade rumors.
It can be interpreted positively as the young core has been on other team's radar. Perhaps the most desirable player on the roster of the LA Lakers is D'Angelo Russell.
Russell is being groomed to become the face of the franchise or at the very least, the point guard of the future. Despite an unimpressive rookie season, Russell is somehow projected as a star. That also reflected in his trade value.
It is interesting how the Lakers is involved with trade rumors almost as much as the Boston Celtics when the discrepancy of both teams' trade assets are polar opposites. The Celtics has the best collection of assets and also been linked to DeMarcus Cousins, Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook trades. The idea is that the Lakers who don't even own their first round pick in the 2017 NBA Draft were also considered as frontrunners.
The clincher is D'Angelo Russell. While he hasn't impressed anyone with his numbers, he seems to have high trade value, higher than any value of the Celtics point guards.
Prior to the Kevin Durant signing, Michael Pina of Real GM evaluated Russell Westbrook's trade value. For the Celtics, this is what they need to send: "Avery Bradley, Isaiah Thomas, Jaylen Brown and Brooklyn's 2017 first-round pick."
For the Lakers, they only need to send "D'Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram and L.A.'s unprotected first-round pick in 2021."
To consider, Ingram is only one pick above Jaylen Brown. The first round picks involved are both unprotected but there is no way to predict the value of the Lakers' pick since it's too far out. The Brooklyn pick projects to be in the lottery or even top 5 on what is known to be a loaded draft class.
It seems like Russell is given more weight than Isaiah Thomas who is an All-Star already. Even if it's a straight up trade-if the Lakers offered D'Angelo Russell to the Boston Celtics for IT, it's a safe bet the Celtics say yes.
Is D'Angelo Russell overrated? During draft week, at least two teams were rumored to have interest in Russell. Those were the Phoenix Suns (according to this article from Bright Side of the Sun) and the Sacramento Kings (extensively covered in a previous report and this tweet from Marc Stein of ESPN.
Why is Russell worth more than any of the Boston Celtics guards? He had an underwhelming season and even an off-court issue (a violation of the Bro Code, no less) but teams still covet him. This season could validate that estimation or totally expose Russell and with it, the future of the Lakers.