Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has been patiently waiting for a trade to improve the team for over a year now and finally struck on Sunday, sending D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three future second round draft picks to the Brookyln Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton.
Pelinka said he would take around 30 games to assess the team’s needs and he made this deal 31 games into the 2024-25 season with the team sitting in the Western Conference playoff mix at 18-13.
Acquiring a player like Finney-Smith will give the Lakers some added defensive toughness, although it is also hard to see Russell go considering how much success he had in his second stint with the team.