I don't think Russell is such a good prospect that he trumps all the C's current and future assets.
He has not shown one sign of being a dominant player and looks more like a system guy, so far. If I was LA I would be nervous, sure he is a rookie and all but should not he look good against other rookies?
I wouldn't go that far he's definitely a great prospect, just not a sell the farm type of prospect.
I would honestly much rather have Smart than Russell, and I think many GMs would as well. Smart is set for a breakout season. He just takes over a game on both ends of the floor.
I think the Lakers made two major mistakes in their rebuild. #1: they kept Kobe and signed him to a big contract , which not only hampered their cap, and hurt the development of other guys, but prevented them from getting value for him in a trade like the Celtics did with KG and Pierce.
#2: passing up Okafor to take Russell will haunt them for years. I think they did so because they thought they were going to be able to trade for Cousins and/or sign Aldridge or Love to compete now with Kobe, but it was a very dumb move.