Lakers rumors: Who is most likely to be traded from young core?

D’Angelo Russell

The former Ohio State star has had an on and off career thus far with the Lakers. At times, he’s balling. Making all the highlight reels, scoring clutch buckets, and getting the rest of the team hyped throughout the game.

Then, there’s streaks where we all wonder why the Lakers drafted him second overall in the first place.

It’s hard to say that he’s a bad player, because he’s not — so I won’t go that far. But I will go out on a limb to say that he may not be the best player for the Lakers.

When drafting the other young players like Randle, Ingram, and even Zubac, there was a different set of expectations that they’ve had to deal with. However, Russell was picked up with the idea that he’d be the next franchise cornerstone.

He’s been anything but that in the big picture of his last two seasons.

Should the Lakers draft someone like Lonzo Ball, the big question stemming from that decision is where Russell will play. Rumor has it that the could become the shooting guard, but if that ends up not fitting for him, he could be on the way out.

That all, of course, depends on how a prospect like Ball handles the step up to the NBA.

Chance of Trade: 55%