The Los Angeles Lakers used to be a powerhouse team in the NBA. From Jerry West-Wilt Chamberlain in the 70s to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar-Magic Johnson in the 80s. And of course, the tandem of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in the early 2000s.
But in the past three seasons, the Lakers have the worst three-season span of the franchise. During those woeful years, they have a combined regular season record of 65-181. With the departure of Kobe Bryant last season due to retirement, the Lakers' future are now in the hands of their young core stars.
This season, the Lakers actually surprised most analyst and fans as they went 10-10 on their first 20 games. But after that, they lost 8 straight games and slowly slipping its chance to contend for the playoffs this season. They are now fourth in the Pacific Division and eleventh in the Western Conference.
Louis Williams is having a career season in his second year with the Lakers. In 28 games with the Lakers, he is averaging 19.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals. He has done this while coming off the bench and playing only for 25.1 minutes per game, as per ESPN. He is one of the early candidates for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
D'Angelo Russell is also having an outstanding season for the Lakers. He is averaging 15.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals. He is clearly the rising star for the Lakers.
But despite the fact that Russell is playing great for the Lakers this season, he has been involved with a lot of trade rumor talks. And almost 3 months ago, a rumor surfaced between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks. According to HNGN, a possible trade might happen that will send D'Angelo Russell to the Milwaukee Bucks. And in exchange, the Lakers will receive Greg Monroe and Jabari Parker.
Is this trade still possible now? There is a very slim chance that this deal might still happen. But it is almost impossible to become a reality.
The Los Angeles Lakers are still loaded with big men like Timofey Mozgov, Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr and they are all playing well for the team. So they don't need an additional front court player like Monroe. Aside from that, Russell is one of the potential stars for the Lakers. Giving him away now doesn't make any sense.
For the Milwaukee Bucks, Parker is improving a lot as he averages 19.8 points on 47.8% field goal shooting. His tandem with Giannis Antetokounmpo is what keeping the Bucks from its playoff chase this season. So trading Parker this season is impossible.
