Historically, teams are active on the day of the NBA trade deadline, making multiple trades — sometimes within minutes of each other — and overwhelming fans with trade information that makes it difficult to know what the heck is going on.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets decided to get us all out of that confusion by making an early deal, giving us plenty of time to absorb the change of scenery.
The change? D’Angelo Russell goes to the Nets with Maxwell Lewis and three second-round selections (2027, 2030 and 2031), and Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton go to LA
Let’s be clear right away. No one here came out badly, and both sides achieved what they set out to achieve. If you’re looking for grades, both scored a solid B+ here, and let’s see why.
The Lakers are competitive and have two of the best players in basketball: Anthony Davis and LeBron James. They needed legitimate weapons around them, and Finney-Smith fits those needs as a diverse 6-foot-1 wing big who can defend at a high level and connect on a high percentage of his three-point attempts.
At 31, Finney-Smith makes 43.5% of his 5.4 three attempts per game, while covering everything from shooting guards to smaller centers, often with a high level of defensive discipline.
It should come as no surprise that the Lakers desperately needed a two-way player who could play on both ends of the court for extended periods of time. Outside of Davis, the roster was filled with players who had their primary skills focused on offense or defense, and with the acquisition of Finney-Smith, they finally found a player they could rely on for a potential deep playoff push.
Giving up Russell, who has been nearly unplayable during parts of this season, is almost addition by subtraction. His defense was problematic and his offensive decision-making never seemed to suit new head coach JJ Redick.
Of course, the Lakers had to pay for that upgrade by giving up draft equity, but they did so without sacrificing a first-round pick, which is remarkable.
The addition of Milton gives the Lakers an instant offensive type player who could see his minutes extended at a moment’s notice if needed.
For Brooklyn, this is all about the Benjamins. Russell is on an expiring $18.6 million contract and has little trade value, but the Nets are rebuilding. They knew they could lose Finney-Smith, who has a $15.3 million player option next summer, so they decided to get ahead of that by acquiring a full-fledged, expiring deal while securing three second-round picks to add to their concept capital.
Russell has no immediate value based on his play this season, so Brooklyn likely has no problem with him leaving for nothing in the 2025 offseason.
That said, there is another piece that helps the Nets.
It turns out that Brooklyn has been surprisingly competitive this season (12-20), to the point where you can really argue that the Nets have won too many games already.
Russell as an indirect tank commander could be an understated smart move, as the 6-5 guard isn’t exactly an efficient offensive player, nor does he play the caliber of defense that helps you win games.
The downgrade from Finney-Smith to Russell is substantial, and that’s a large part of why the Nets get the same grade as the Lakers given their ambition to pick high in the 2025 NBA Draft.
