Midway through this season, the Los Angeles Lakers are making a ton of progress with this group of players. They have already nearly matched their win total from a year ago, and their recent lottery selections; Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell, and Brandon Ingram are all getting better every game.
Very few teams can claim to have three players with as much potential as the Lakers’ young trio, but with pressure on the team to win soon, some have wondered if there is a possibility of them trading away one of their potential stars for more immediate help.
So far, however, the Lakers are sticking with their guys as Sean Deveney of Sporting News reports that the Lakers have refused to include Russell, Ingram or Randle in any trade talks:
According to league sources, the Lakers have not included any of the three into trade discussions, and do not figure to change that.
Additionally, Deveney reports that the Lakers aren’t likely to include Jordan Clarkson or Larry Nance Jr. in any deals either:
They’re unlikely to consider moves involving their two other young role players, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr., who figure to be key parts of the rotation in the near future.
Though the ceilings of Nance and Clarkson aren’t as high as the other three players, they have proven to be excellent rotation players who can make a huge difference on any given night. The fact that the franchise is committed to keeping them around shows how serious they are about developing the guys they have.
The Lakers are still looking around at potential upgrades as there have been reports about them being interested in both Paul Millsap of the Atlanta Hawks and Nerlens Noel of the Philadelphia 76ers. Should the right deal present itself the Lakers will consider it, but as of right now any deal involving the young core looks like a no-go for the franchise.
