The NFL encroached on traditional NBA territory Wednesday with two games on Christmas, prompting LeBron James to send a message that Christmas still belonged to his league.
On Sunday afternoon, James’ Los Angeles Lakers returned the favor with a little trade news to get the football day started.
After years of D’Angelo Russell trade speculation, the Lakers are finally moving the point guard, agreeing to send him to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported. It’s the second time in his career Russell has been traded from the Lakers to the Nets.
Here’s a look at the full trade and grades for each team.
Lakers get: Dorian Finney-Smith, Shake Milton
Nets get: D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, 2027 2nd-round pick, 2030 2nd-round pick, 2031 2nd-round pick
The Lakers are sending their own second-round picks in 2027, 2030 and 2031 to the Nets, sources said. https://t.co/HVMvSp9N4K
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 29, 2024
The Lakers had to move Russell. Not only is he on an expiring contract, but he’s in the midst of arguably the worst season of his career. That they were able to turn him into a player like Finney-Smith, who fills a major need as a wing defender while also replacing much of Russell’s offensive production is a plus. He’s the best player in this deal.
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. pic.twitter.com/uyKzvMG6zf
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 29, 2024
The only downside is they didn’t do it sooner. Russell’s trade value has never been lower than it is now, which is why the Lakers had to give up so many picks in the deal. They get dinged for not finding a trade partner in the offseason, knowing how uneven the fit has been with Russell next to James and the rest of this roster.
I’m also not dismissing those picks as having little value to a team like the Lakers that could be approaching a rebuild soon. Sure, you have to push your chips all in to help James in his pursuit of a title — and Finney-Smith helps address their 21st-ranked defense — but at some point they’re going to have to get younger. At least they added another ball-handler in Milton.
The Lakers get much needed wing depth and flexibility below the second apron.
Below 2nd apron: $3.5M (was $30K)
Dorian Finney-Smith: $14.9M and $15.4M (P)
Shake Milton: $2.9M, $3M (NGTY), $3.3M (NGTY)
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) December 29, 2024
GRADE: B-
On the surface, it’s a curious decision for the Nets to re-acquire Russell, who played for the team from 2017-19, but this deal was all about the picks — just like their Dennis Schroder trade two weeks ago. The Nets were able to flip Finney-Smith into three more draft picks and get a short-term replacement for Schroeder in the process — and they’ll potentially be able to flip Russell into more picks before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
The only question is whether they could have gotten more for Finney-Smith, who figured to be a popular three-and-D target of teams in the playoff hunt. He’s shooting a career-high 43% from three and his 10.4 points per game are the second-most of his career. Brooklyn obviously did its due diligence before pulling the trigger, but it may have been worth it to hold him closer to the deadline to see if another team or even the Lakers got desperate.
Either way, their stockpile of picks just got larger.
GRADE: B
