The Los Angeles Lakers completed a trade with the Brooklyn Nets prior to the 2017 NBA Draft. The Lakers traded point guard D’Angelo Russell and center Timofey Mozgov to the Nets in exchange for center Brook Lopez and the 27th pick in the draft.
It was a trade that was met with much skepticism, mostly because fans were unhappy with the team trading away Russell. Russell was the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, and arguably the best player on the team. He will be replaced by Lonzo Ball, the second overall pick in this year’s draft.