The Los Angeles Lakers' reported interest in trading for Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson could only mean one thing: they are not yet sold on D'Angelo Russell as their starting point guard next season.

According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, the Lakers are among teams expressing interest in acquiring Lawson, whose future in Mile High has been determined as soon as the Nuggets selected Emmanuel Mudiay with the no.7 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.

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The Lakers didn't land an All-Star caliber for third consecutive offseason but they somehow recovered from their latest free-agency setback quite nicely by trading for Roy Hibbert and signing Brandon Bass and Lou Williams.They also used their no.2 overall pick to take the 6-foot-5 Russell out of Ohio State.

While many NBA scouts and analysts lauded the Lakers' decision to select the Buckeyes' playmaker instead of using the pick for big man Jahlil Okafor, Russell's performance throughout Summer League is suggesting otherwise.

Through five Summer League games with other Lakers youngsters, the 19-year old Russell averaged 11.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He shot 37 percent from the field and 12 percent from beyond the arc with 5.2 turnovers in 30 minutes per game (H/T NBA Summer League)

Russell's brow-raising assists-turnover ratio and horrendous field-goal shooting, especially from the three-point area, may have served as a wake-up call for Lakers top-honcho that their point guard prospect isn't ready yet to run the first team's offense next season. Lakers head coach Byron Scott also agreed to that, adding Russsell has plenty of work left to meet his full potential.

"Let's make this very clear, Russell is not Magic Johnson," Scott told the Los Angeles Times. "Magic came on the scene, and instantly he's a Hall-of-Famer. D'Angelo has a way to go, there's no doubt about that.

"Sometimes when you come out here and you're the No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 pick, you expect to come out here and tear the league up," he continued. "When guys kind of eat your lunch every now in then, it brings you back down to earth and lets you know that you still have a long way to go. In the long run, this might be the best thing that ever happened to him."

With Russell still finding his way around, the Lakers are apparently looking to bring in a proven playmaker like Lawson. Averaging 15.2 points, 9.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 36 minutes per game last season, the 27-year old Lawson has been one of most productive guards out there even in a brutally competitive Western Conference. But with the Nuggets heading to a different direction, Lawson has become available on the trade market, though interested teams need to be creative as he's still owed at least $12 million over the next two seasons.

The Lakers are already capped out after spending $23 million in cap space to absorb Hibbert's immense contract ($15MM) and inking both Williams and Bass. However, there might still a way in acquiring Lawson through a complicated three-team trade or hope the point guard buys out from his contract with Nuggets and becomes a free-agent at some point this offseason.

Lawson would be a terrific addition to the Lakers since he can serve as Russell's mentor and give the Lakers a playmaker capable of creating shots for himself and his teammates.

TagsLos Angeles Lakers, D’Angelo Russell, NBA Trade Rumors, NBA Free-Agency Rumors, Lakers Trade Rumors, Ty Lawson