The Los Angeles Lakers have a bit of an odd roster right now with a lot of young talent and the retirement of Kobe Bryant has left a gaping hole on it as well. Lakers fans don't want to see another down year after witnessing three consecutive seasons of less than 30 years, but that might prove to be more difficult than fans think.
RELATED: D'Angelo Russell commits the worst locker room sin imaginable
ESPN Draft Insider Chad Ford made an appearance on SportsCenter to talk about the draft on June 23rd and how the Lakers may be willing to trade last year's No. 2 pick D'Angelo Russell. Despite making the second team All-Rookie squad, Russell did have some issues in the locker room and had a hard time figuring out what it means to be professional. Ford believes that's ultimately what might send Russell away.
"They've brought in Dragan Bender, Jaylen Brown, and while I still believe that it will be Ingram at No. 2, the Lakers have explored other options," Ford said. "And again I think the concern with Ingram is his lack of strength and how NBA-ready he's going to be because of that. I think more likely the Lakers are trying to pick up another pick in this draft in the top five and the guy that they have that they can shop is D'Angelo Russell, a guy who was their No. 2 pick in the draft last year but burned some bridges in the locker room."
The Lakers were atrocious in Kobe's last season winning only 17 games and while this may be Ford's opinion, there's usually fire where there's smoke. It would certainly make for an interesting draft and could shake things up for the rest of the offseason.
[h/t Sporting News]
