When the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a trade on Sunday — the most significant deal of the regular season to this point — many viewed D’Angelo Russell as the tragic hero of the transaction. In a moment’s notice, Russell went from playing on a team with playoff aspirations that featured two future Hall of Famers to a team angling for a high pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
However, if Russell’s Nets’ (second) debut against the Toronto Raptors was any indication, moving across the country was exactly what the doctor ordered.
Why The Lakers Traded Russell
There were financial incentives that played a part in the Lakers’ moving on from Russell. For starters, the team needed a roster upgrade, and Russell has a sizable salary ($18.7 million dollar cap hit this year, per Spotrac), one that is suitable for matching contracts in trades. Plus, Russell was on an expiring deal, and since the Lakers are well over the maximum salary for 2025-26, they would be forced to re-sign Russell or risk losing him for absolutely nothing.
More than that, there were on-court reasons for why the Lakers chose to move Russell. Like our friends, the Sacramento Kings, the Lakers had a roster imbalance.
Among Russell, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, the Lakers had an abundance of on-ball creation and a scarcity in two-way wings. This was evidenced by only two Lakers (Reaves and Anthony Davis) having both a positive Offensive and Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (EPM). That means that none of their complementary players (Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht, Max Christie, Cam Reddish, etc.) have been above average on both sides of the ball.
Since Russell was the worst offensive player and defensive player of the trio, he became the most disposable. So, they moved Russell (and his salary) to the Nets in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith, a player who better addressed their weaknesses.
Why Brooklyn Is A Good Place For Russell
Why on Earth would a tanking team be a good place for a veteran guard on an expiring deal, you ask?
Well, just because Russell is a worse offensive player than the possible GOAT and Austin Reaves doesn’t mean he’s a bad offensive player. In fact, he’s one of the better offensive players in the league. As recently as last season, Russell ranked 34th in the association O-EPM.
Meanwhile, the Nets have the opposite roster problem of the Lakers. They tout a lot of complementary pieces (Cameron Johnson, Keon Johnson, Jalen Wilson, Nicolas Claxton, Noah Clowney, Tyrese Martin, etc.), but very few drink stirrers. Now that Dennis Schroder is on a new team and Cam Thomas is injured, the Nets basically have no viable lead creators — until Russell arrived.
Heard a great description of D’Angelo Russell today from Raja Bell — former NBA player & scout.
He “likes” Russell. Says DLo’s a “tweener” in that he’s too skilled and talented to just be a role player but he’s probably not at a high enough level to be a lead guard for a…
— Billy Reinhardt (@BillyReinhardt) January 2, 2025
This gives him the platform to showcase his immense bag of tricks as the team’s lead conductor in a way that he never could with the Lakers. In his 2024-25 Nets’ debut, Russell may have come off the bench, but still dropped 22 points and eight assists on 79.3 percent true shooting in just over 26 minutes of action. His most telling box score number was that the Nets were a plus-two during Russell’s minutes in a game they lost by 17 points.
Imagine how much more money Russell’s agents will add to his next deal when they can show front offices a montage like this:
D'Angelo Russell has been sick in his Nets (re)Debut pic.twitter.com/cxpqsaF9tG
— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) January 2, 2025
On top of the increased autonomy his new gig offers, Russell will no longer have to share a backcourt with another vulnerable defensive guard like Reaves. Brooklyn, in spite of all its talent shortcomings, can field lineups that surround with Russell with size to help mask his own defensive deficiencies, similar to what the Atlanta Hawks now do with Trae Young.
Most of all, Russell seems ready to embrace this new opportunity. When he was first traded back to his old stomping grounds, many people suggested a buyout was imminent, but recent reports suggest that won’t be happening. Russell is bought in to this team and even threw his new teammate, Ziaire Williams, a pretty penny to retain his No. 1 jersey.
to catch everybody up on how D'Angelo Russell got his #1 back pic.twitter.com/xOteakWlr6
— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) January 2, 2025
Now, Russell will have to share the sugar more when Thomas, another high-usage guard, returns from injury. He’ll also have a hard time maintaining the efficiency he displayed in his first game back in Brooklyn against stronger defenses (Raptors are 26th in defensive rating). So, we can’t expect 20 and 10 on pristine true shooting for the rest of the season.
But he does have the chance to rehabilitate his value that was tanked by a poor context in Los Angeles. It’s like Raja Bell said, Russell can’t be the top guy for a true contending team, but he can add some structure to a young one. And, for the right price, Russell can eventually return to a winning situation, and help swing a few games for them with his offensive brilliance.
