Would Julius Randle and Nerlens Noel benefit from initial December trade talks?

Final thoughts:

Do I think this trade will happen? Probably not. Do I think this trade should happen? Not necessarily. But do I think both players could benefit from this move? Yeah, both seem uneasy in their current situations.

Randle came off the bench most of the season, saw his minutes dwindle for a short period and now is starting for the Los Angeles Lakers. This type of inconsistency isn’t good for a player’s development, but Randle has done well to remained focused on the court.

Noel has yet to make strides in recent seasons, and lack of playing time is at the forefront of this halt. He didn’t do his part to earn significant court time over teammates, but I don’t know if burying him on the bench is any way to see how good he is, especially for a team closer to the bottom of the Western Conference than the 8-seed.

What makes this trade so intriguing to me is that I see roles for each player in the modern NBA, but they may not be in the right situations, which happens frequently in this league. A chance of scenery has been all that’s needed to resurrect careers, and with both players on expiring contracts, this trade could be a low-risk deal for the Lakers and Mavericks as both look to build around their young point guards.

Next: 2017-18 Week 13 NBA Power Rankings

Even if Randle stays in L.A., the Lakers are expected to be very active around the deadline. This expects to be an uneasy couple weeks leading to the trade deadline, so we’ll see if this trade is revived or if either played moves before the Feb. 8 deadline.