The LA Lakers are still in the thick of NBA trade rumors but is their young core available?
The Lakers are having a hard time finding a trade partner for Nick Young and rumors of packaging Young along with Julius Randle have emerged just for the Lakers to be free of Swaggy P.
As mentioned in Denver Stiffs, there were rumors of the Lakers sending Randle and Young in exchange for Kenneth Faried and Gary Harris. The rumor was shot down, though but this gives us an idea of Randle's worth.
Randle is often seen as the "filler" for any trade talk which concerns the Lakers. The main piece is often D'Angelo Russell and sometimes, Jordan Clarkson. The point being Russell won't be traded, or is "untouchable" and Clarkson is slightly more valuable.
Late last season, Ken Berger of CBS ran a piece on the Lakers, specifically Russell and Randle.
"Randle is viewed as 'a piece' or 'an energy guy.' The Lakers need more talent if they're going to build a team around Russell that can win. It's just a matter of how they go about it. Randle, 21, has shown signs of being an elite rebounder, averaging 10.1 per game in just shy of 28 minutes to go with 11.7 points," Berger noted.
The article quoted an anonymous executive who said that "Russell could be a big piece, but I'm not sure Randle is a cornerstone."
In short, Russell may actually be untouchable, at least for now because the Lakers want to see how good he can actually be. The Lakers passed on Jahlil Okafor and also Kristaps Porzingis in favor of Russell in the 2015 NBA Draft and the Lakers want to prove they made the right decision.
Randle was a 7th overall pick in 2014 but he got injured at the start of the season. 2015 was his virtual rookie year. But that season, the Lakers also drafted Larry Nance, Jr and Randle had a challenger as the incumbent power forward.
How about Jordan Clarkson? Will the Lakers trade him? There are some Lakers fans who believe that Clarkson is insurance for the team in case an opportunity for a superstar trade pops up. Russell is the likely target of any such transaction (example: Sacramento Kings would definitely demand Russell for DeMarcus Cousins) and Clarkson would be the point guard in that scenario.
Thus, Russell is not necessarily "untouchable" but he will not be traded unless it's a superstar in return.