NBA Trade Rumors: Los Angeles Lakers Looking To Trade D'Angelo Russell?

When Los Angeles Lakers drafted D'Angelo Russell, analysts were quick to quip that the rookie will play a significant role in the team now that Kobe Bryant is playing his last season. But it appears that the Purple and Gold team has different plans for the rookie as recent NBA trade rumors claim that the organization is currently open to talks.

Russell has received various criticisms regarding his current performance. The rookie averages 12 points per game with 41.4 percent average shooting.

According To Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com, Lakers head coach Byron Scott decided to bench Russell during the game against the Dallas Maverick for playing cocky.

"I don't think he's there. I just think he feels right now that he's got a lot of confidence in himself. Like I said, that's a good thing," Scott said. "You don't get this far without having a little cockiness, as well."

"But you don't want that to overshadow the confidence that he has."

Back in December 2015, the Lakers management decided to put Russell and Julius Randle on the sixth man position.

Some sports analysts were somewhat skeptical about the decision since they believe it is time for the younger players to have more playing time as much as possible in order to grow and lead the team in the future.

But the NBA trade rumors regarding the Lakers organization and Russell remains unconfirmed.

There is also a possibility that the organization is peddling its young talents in order to score an even better deal with other teams, according to Bleacher Report.

Amid the circulating NBA trade rumors, Russell is playing well for the Lakers. The 19-year-old guard posted some pretty impressive stats in the last couple of weeks, including the career-high 27 points in their game against the Sacramento Kings on Jan. 7.