Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard D'Angelo Russell. (Photo : Getty Images)
Reports are out that the Boston Celtics could possibly offer a trade package to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for their thoughtless rookie D'Angelo Russell if the Lakers make the young point guard available this summer.
CSNNE's Sherrod Blakely reported one league executive, whose name was undisclosed, said the Celtics could make a move for the second overall pick of last year's draft "that would at least pique the Lakers' interest", although he also noted it is highly unlikely that Mitch Kupchak and company will trade Russell "over something like this".
The executive was referring to the latest video scandal the 20-year-old Russell is involved in right now with his teammate Nick Young which could perhaps change the trajectory of the rookie's young career in the NBA.
Apparently, Russell recorded a private conversation between him and his 30-year-old teammate with Young talking about his relationships with other women apart from his current fiancée rapper Iggy Azalea.
The video leaked into social media and had gone viral, instigating trust issues on Russell not only inside the Lakers locker room but in the whole NBA as well.
With the damage done to the entire league by the seemingly innocent prank between teammates, the NBA's official website said that Lakers officials are "dismayed" about what happened and speculations abound that Russell will be on his way out of Hollywood this summer as he will be made available via a trade.
ESPN's Baxter Holmes and Marc Stein also reported that Russell's teammates are already "isolating" him right now as their "trust in Russell is eroding" in the aftermath of the video scandal controversy.
The report said that during one breakfast meeting "no Laker would sit with Russell at his table" and that his other teammate, Lou Williams, "got up and walked away" when Russell sat next to him in the locker room.
"It's bad," said one team source, according to the report. "It's about as bad as it can get. There were trust issues already. Now there's no trust."
If the Lakers are pushing through with trading Russell, then the Celtics will definitely need to include emerging 22-year-old point guard Marcus Smart in the package, Blakely said.
Blakely noted that while Smart and Russell are similar in size and the latter is actually a better shooter and scorer, the former is a better defensive player, something that the Lakers sorely need as of the moment.
Boston is likely going to add a draft pick to "sweeten the deal", although it still remains to be seen whether the Celtics and Lakers would actually discuss this kind of a deal right now.
