The Los Angeles Lakers now have young talent, but if they can get a shot at Markieff Morris, a capable starting forward approaching his peak-would they be willing to trade Julius Randle?
The Markieff Morris debacle places the Phoenix Suns at a disadvantage but there are still many teams ready to roll the dice. The bottom line is talent, and Markieff has it.
The Lakers, however, have a Julius Randle who's a 2nd overall pick who may end up better than Morris himself. But he's already spent his first year injured, so in essence, a big part of the Lakers offense will be grounded on two rookies (Randle and Russell) a sophomore and a legend on his last years returning from an injury as well.
Old school coach Byron Scott would probably want something more reassuring. Markieff Morris' 15 points and 6 rebounds with respectable percentages would be fine for him.
Thus ESPN would propose trading Randle, Ryan Kelly and Jabari Brown (for salary matches) to the Suns in exchange for Markieff Morris.
The rationale: "The Suns get an intriguing second-year power forward as a replacement for Morris. The Lakers get certain production as opposed to the question marks around Randle after he missed nearly his entire rookie season with a fractured tibia, as well as a veteran who might appeal to more to targets in free agency."
The Suns do have more room to gamble and Randle is better than a disgruntled Morris who might become locker room cancer at this point. The Lakers will take a few steps forward in their rebuilding program. But will it really happen?
Probably not. ESPN notes that the Lakers are all in on acquiring two max players next season and would rather keep their cap clear. Also, it's been a long time since "upside" was a word used in Lakerland, and Randle is one of the main reasons for that.