For a young rookie in the NBA, playing time would seem to be the most important thing aside from winning. However, that seems to be the opposite scenario happening to the Lakers rookie player, D'Angelo Russell. It has been observed that Russell's playing time has been dwindling. And just recently Russell has been benched and removed from the starting line-up. On a reports of latimes, Russell expressed his confusion stating that;
"I have no idea [why]. I'm just going along with it," Russell said. "I finally was starting to figure it out and then this happened. . . . I didn't expect it to happen like that so if I was the problem, or if I was the change that needed to happen to better the team, then I guess it was worth it."
If such thing would continue and as frustration builds up for this young player, it would not take much time for Russell to request for a trade. The most probable place that Russell would be traded to according to some reports would be with the Philadelphia 76ers. According to the rumors, Russell would likely be traded in exchange for Jahlil Okafor. Christianpost stated that;
"The underachieving D'Angelo Russell of the Los Angeles Lakers is reportedly unhappy with the minutes being afforded to him by coach Byron Scott, to a point that letting him go in exchange for another top pick may very well materialize. There have been rumors that the Philadelphia 76ers, which by the way are the worst team in the league right now, want to get the point guard out of Ohio State in a trade involving Jahlil Okafor, the number 3 pick in the draft."
If indeed true then it might be a win-win situation for both players and for both teams. Russell could fill in the missing point guard piece for the 76ers, and Okafor would perfectly serve as an additional force as the Lakers rebuild its team after the Kobe era.