Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell has been traded to the Nets and sources close to him have revealed his reaction to returning to Brooklyn.
The full trade details are as follows:
Nets receive:
D’Angelo Russell
Maxwell Lewis
3 second-round picks
Lakers receive:
Dorian Finney-Smith
Shake Milton
Russell will be headed from a fifth seeded Lakers team, to a 12th seeded Nets team – who may not even make the postseason at this stage.
However, LA Times writer Dan Woike reports that DLo is excited to be heading back to Brooklyn, where he played in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons and he earned his lone All-Star selection.
“A person close to Russell told The Times on condition of anonymity that he’s excited about the return to Brooklyn and the chance to establish his value heading into free agency next offseason,’ Woike said. “People inside the Lakers’ front office and locker room also praised Russell for accepting a lesser role with the team this season without becoming a distraction, showing a true team-first commitment.”
The Lakers released a statement about the trade, where general manager and vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said, “We want to thank D’Angelo for his second stint with us, where we celebrated some great moments and accomplishments on the court together. We want to wish him and Maxwell Lewis well in their future endeavors with the Brooklyn Nets.
“With this trade, we are thrilled to add the physicality, toughness and elite shooting that Dorian Finney-Smith will bring to our core. We also greatly value the playmaking of Shake Milton. We are excited for our fans to get both of these players out on the court.”
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