New rumors are suggesting that the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics might be cooking up a potential trade involving D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle. Insiders are expecting this to happen within days or even hours before the 2016 NBA Draft kicks off.
With the upcoming draft, various NBA franchise are obviously aiming to get the top picks to fill their rosters with young and talented athletes. But aside from the actual draft, various trades are also expected to happen between the team before the event.
One of those trades could be between the Lakers and Celtics. As noted by ESPN Insider Chad Ford according to Yibada, the Los Angeles franchise could send Russell and Randle to Boston in exchange for the team's No. 3 and No. 16 picks in the first round. But, aside from the draft slots, the Celtics will also supplement the trade with RJ Hunter, Jordan Mickey and Jonas Jerebko.
This move might seem odd because aside from losing Russell, who was the Lakers' second overall pick in 2015, they will also be getting three new players who don't have a big superstar vibe.
But, the payoff here is that the Lakers will get greater chances of recruiting new young athletes through its multiple picks in the first round. And, since the team is focused on building a roster with rising stars, this trade can be extremely beneficial for them.
As for the Celtics, it's obvious that they'll be losing their first round picks and the opportunity to get young players to their team. However, unlike the Lakers, the Celtics are not looking on entering next season with new blood.
Instead, they want to build a lineup composed of experienced and seasoned athletes. Sure, Russell and Randle are still relatively young in the league but Boston can still certainly use their talents on the court. They could also serve as the younger replacements of their veterans who may or may not end up leaving the team this offseason.
But then again, these details are nothing but rumors and everything could still change within the next few days. As for the draft, this event is scheduled to take place on June 23.
