Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers front office pulled off a big trade over the weekend, acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton from the Brooklyn Nets for D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks.
Before the Lakers swooped in, it was believed that the Nets were nearing a deal to send Finney-Smith to the Memphis Grizzlies, who were even offering a first-round pick. However, the protections that would have been on that pick, along with some other things, led Brooklyn to lean towards the Lakers offer.
According to NBA reporter Marc Stein, the Nets not having to send anything else in the deal aside from Finney-Smith and Milton, along with the first-round pick Memphis offered being heavily protected, made the deal from the Lakers more attractive:
The first-round pick that the Nets were seeking from the Grizzlies was going to be heavily protected.