The D’Angelo Russell era is over.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers surprised everyone by shipping Russell and center Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Brook Lopez and the 27th pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft.
There is no question that losing Russell hurts. He was the second overall pick just two years ago, and at the time was thought to be the modern guard needed to bring the antiquated Lakers into the 21st century.
However, since then, questions have arisen regarding his maturity and work ethic. With the Lakers poised to select Lonzo Ball with the second pick this year, the decision was made to move on.