NBA: Rating the Lakers-Brooklyn Trade | Who Won and Who Lost

The first of many blockbuster trades before the deadline featured the Los Angeles Lakers sending D’Angelo Russell to Brooklyn (again), Maxwell Lewis, and three second-round draft picks for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. For such a huge but not-so-surprising trade, who definitely won between the Lakers and the Nets?

The short answer is—both teams got what they wanted.

But, here’s a breakdown of this trade and what kind of impact D’Lo or Finney-Smith can have on their new squads.

Lakers Get Two Solid 3-and-D Players For a Very Cheap Price

Yes, they may have sacrificed D’Lo, which isn’t much of a sacrifice at all considering they can have the opportunity of getting good 3-and-D guys on their roster.

Dorian Finney-Smith, in his last ten games, shot 52.8% from three while also being a good perimeter defender. This season, he was shooting 43% on 5.4 attempts from the three-point land, compared to Russell who was chucking up 5.8 attempts per game but only making 33%. That, and DFS’ defense makes him a better fit to LeBron’s system already. LA also got Shake Milton, who for some seasons, looked like a great pickup, especially when he played for the Sixers. He was a solid starter and is significantly a better player than Maxwell Lewis.

Overall, the Lakers grab two players to reinforce their aspirations as a contender with the low price of giving away three second-round picks. Although they really didn’t get any special player and this won’t immediately make them a huge threat in the West, Finney-Smith and Milton are solid pick-ups who can fulfill the Lakers’ need on the defensive end. Their three-point shooting is just a bonus at this point. At the most, this is a win-win situation for LA.

Brooklyn Can Continue Tanking

Although the Nets have turned into a worse team, it’s not that bad since they’re on a tanking season anyway. Dennis Schroder is gone and Cam Johnson will most likely be sent away soon.

It’s just ironic how D’Lo went from LA to Brooklyn twice via trade. The last time he was there, the then 22-year-old All-star version of him brought the Nets to the playoffs. Russell hasn’t been much of an asset for Los Angeles this year, but who knows what he could provide for the rebuilding Brooklyn Nets this season?