NBA trade rumors: Lakers will not trade away their young core

Reuters/Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell talks during a press conference last season.

When someone takes a look at the basketball rumor mill right now, they will notice that the Los Angeles Lakers are linked to just about every player with a pulse. All jokes aside, Lakers-related trade rumors are everywhere. Of course, these are just rumors right now, but still, some of them may be true. The Lakers want to acquire players to strengthen their team, but they may not want to part with any of their young players to do so.

Sean Deveney of the Sporting News has reported the Lakers do not want to put their young core on the trading block.

Brandon Ingram, D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle are obviously on a lot of teams' radar. The lanky Ingram is a smooth jumper, and people believe that he could be the next Kevin Durant. Russell may occasionally get into trouble off the court, but many think he's a superstar in waiting. Randle is simply a beast. He has developed his playmaking skills since his rookie season, and he has become one of the Lakers' most versatile players.

A Western Conference scout reportedly told Sporting News that those three were certainly some of the best young players in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

"If you made a list of the 20 best players who are 22 or under, I think you'd have to have all three of the Lakers' young guys on there. They're three of the best young guys in the league. There's really not a lot of teams can say that, and I think a lot of mediocre teams would like to swap rosters with the Lakers right now."

Reports say the Lakers are interested in Nerlens Noel and Paul Millsap, but they may find it difficult to acquire the two if they won't include their young core in deals. Right now, it looks like the Lakers are going to keep playing their young players and put their hopes on them.