The Los Angeles Lakers have traded D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton, the teams announced Sunday.
ESPN’s Shams Charania wrote on X: “The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed on a trade sending D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton, sources told ESPN. The Lakers land a versatile, 3-and-D addition with Dorian Finney-Smith, who is shooting a career-high 44% from 3-point land. L.A. also creates salary and luxury tax flexibility, saving $15 million. Nets receive draft capital and clean salaries in return.”
Russell, 28, has been inconsistent this season, and was recently benched. The second overall pick in the 2015 draft, Russell averaged 12.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 26.3 minutes per game this season. The point guard now returns to the Nets where he played for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, which is also where he earned his only All-Star selection.
The Lakers sent their own second-round picks in 2027, 2030 and 2031 to the Nets, and acquire the versatile 3-and-D player in Finney-Smith. The 31-year-old averaged 10.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game this season for the Nets.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement: “With this trade, we are thrilled to add the physicality, toughness and elite shooting that Dorian Finney-Smith will bring to our core. We also greatly value the playmaking of Shake Milton. We are excited for our fans to get both of these players out on the court.” Pelinka added: “We want to thank D’Angelo for his second stint with us, where we celebrated some great moments and accomplishments on the court together. We want to wish him and Maxwell Lewis well in their future endeavors with the Brooklyn Nets.”
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