The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off a major move last night, trading D’Angelo Russell and Maxwell Lewis to the Brooklyn Nets, along with three second-round picks, in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. This marks yet another massive trade in Russell’s career, including the second trade from the Lakers to the Nets. You can take a look at his career trajectory below.
June 2015: Los Angeles Lakers selected D’Angelo Russell as the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
June 2017: D’Angelo Russell traded to the Brooklyn Nets for Brook Lopez and draft rights for Kyle Kuzma.
July 2019: D’Angelo Russell traded to the Golden State Warriors as part of a sign-and-trade deal for Kevin Durant.
February 2020: D’Angelo Russell traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Andrew Wiggins and a 2021 First-Round Pick.
February 2023: D’Angelo Russell traded to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a three-team trade sending Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz.
December 2024: D’Angelo Russell traded to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton.
D’Angelo Russell might be one of the few players in NBA history to be a part of a trade between two of the same teams twice in his career. The Lakers have already traded him in the past, sending him to the Nets as part of the Brook Lopez deal. And that turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as Russell had the best stint of his career on the Nets, becoming an All-Star for the first and only time in his career.
Russell’s initial stint with the Lakers came during their rebuilding years, as he had a 38-105 record during his two years there. He got the chance to play as a rookie alongside Kobe Bryant, who was retiring the same year. After that, he was part of a young Lakers core as the franchise looked to redesign their entire team in the post-Kobe Bryant era.
His being moved to the Brooklyn Nets wasn’t just so they could land Brook Lopez. Magic Johnson admitted publically that Russell’s controversy with then-teammate Nick Young, where he caught ‘Swaggy P’ admitting about his infidelity to then-fianceé Iggy Azaelea on Snapchat, played a big role in the decision to trade D-Lo.
Russell averaged 14.3 points, 4.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game during his first stint with the Lakers.
As mentioned above, Russell had his best years as a Net. He averaged 19.0 points, 6.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game during his two seasons on the Nets, ending with a 58-71 record. During the 2018-19 season, he earned the first and only All-Star nomination of his career and even helped them end a three-year playoff drought in 2019.
He was moved to the Golden State Warriors not because he played poorly or had any behavior issues, but simply because his salary was needed to pull off the Kevin Durant signing.
Russell barely played more than four months on the Warriors, beginning the 2019-20 NBA season with them, only to get traded to the Timberwolves at the February trade deadline. He played just 33 games with them and had an 8-25 record. With the Warriors, Russell played well, averaging 23.6 points, 6.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game.
D-Lo had the longest stint of his NBA career with the Timberwolves, playing 173 games with them, and ending with an 85-88 record and playing a key role in their team’s evolution as a playoff team. Russell was the third option on the Timberwolves team that ended their three-year playoff drought in 2022, as they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Russell had strong numbers as a third option on the Timberwolves, averaging 18.5 points, 6.5 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game. But that didn’t stop the Timberwolves from trading Russell away, sending him right back to the Los Angeles Lakers in February team, as part of a three-team deal for Russell Westbrook.
Upon his return to the Lakers in February 2023, Russell made a fairly immediate impact. He was crucial to the Lakers’ second-round playoff win against the Golden State Warriors.
But his abysmal showing against the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals cost the team massively, with the Lakers getting swept. He was poor during the rematch the following year in the first round as well, as the Lakers got packed up in five games in the first round of the 2024 playoffs.
Since then, fans have consistently been frustrated with his performances in the purple and gold. With his stint with the Lakers coming to an end, and him amassing a 74-48 record during his second stint, fans will be relieved he is no longer underperforming for them. During his second stint with the Lakers, Russell averaged 16.6 points, 5.9 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game.
Russell is expected to be bought out by the Nets, as they are a rebuilding team, and don’t want to hold on to an expiring contract that has the potential to win them some games. Fans will have to wait and see what comes next in the future of D’Angelo Russell.
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