This team isn't in win now mode
Trading our core for one superstar does nothing for this team. We'd still be lucky to sniff the 8 seed if you swap DLo+Ingram+Randle for Boogie
You need minimum two superstars to be legitimately competitive. So now you have boogie and nobody else. You're basically hoping you get Paul George or another superstar to come here in 2018. Plus you're hoping boogie stays relatively sane
And even with the addition of another superstar it doesn't ensure we'd be top flight team. We'd still have to complement them with decent players/have good depth.
And if nobody chooses to come here cause we still suck, then we just set our franchise back another 5-10 years
Our best move is to invest ZERO assets in acquiring a superstar until this core develops. and in roughly a year and a half we can go after a superstar in FA if need be.
While you make some excellent points, I wouldn't suggest gutting the main core just to get Boogie. No way I would deal Russell, Randle AND Ingram for Cousins. Vlade would have to be out of his mind to propose that and I'm sure Mitch/Jim wouldn't agree to it either.
However, the Lakers can still trade a couple of assets and still wind up with a much more competitive playoff team than the way the roster currently sits.
If the Lakers only have to give up either Randle or Russell while still keeping Ingram in order to get Boogie, I'm all for it. For example, Randle OR Russell plus Mozgov and Black. The Lakers would still have Boogie, Clarkson, Ingram, Randle or Russell, Williams, Nance, Young, and Zubac, who I believe will be a solid player in this league.
My other point is that having a bonafide elite player on the roster makes the Lakers a much more attractive destination for veteran star free agents. If free agents such as Paul George sees that the Lakers roster in 2018 is nothing but a bunch of unproven developing young players, he will most likely pass and sign with a team that can actually help him win a championship sooner than later.
Your proposal of moving ZERO assets and wait a year and a half to see how they develop while hoping a superstar free agent signs with us carries much more risk than moving 1 or 2 assets NOW in order to obtain a superstar via trade.
What if Russell blows his knee at the end of the year? What if Randle breaks his leg again? Or what if none of these guys pan out and don't show any significant improvement in two years? The Lakers would lose just about every piece of leverage they would have had because at that point, both of Russell's and Randle's value had taken a nosedive.
Right now, their value is based on potential rather than on what they've done in the league. Which is why it's best to trade either of them now if you can acquire an All-Star, since teams may have a solid level of interest. It's not like Russell or Randle are showing any signs whatsoever of being bonafide All-Stars let alone elite franchise players.
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