NBA Trade Grades: Lakers trade D'Angelo Russell to Nets for Brook Lopez
NBA Trade Grades
Jan 10, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell (1) reacts during the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Lakers are sending D'Angelo Russel and Timofey Mozgo to the Brooklyn Nets for Brook Lope and a pick. Here are NBA Trade Grades for both sides.
The Boston Celtics opened up NBA trade season by sending the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft to the Philadelphia 76ers, but the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets opened the floodgates Tuesday afternoon with a deal few saw coming.
As first reported by The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers have agreed to send point guard D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Nets in exchange for Brook Lopez and the 27th overall pick in Thursday's draft.
After reports emerged Tuesday morning that the Lakers were trying to maneuver their way into a trade for Paul George, this out-of-the-blue deal took many by surprise.
Most knew L.A. was low on Russell, but the 21-year-old still showed many signs of promise in his second NBA season and trading a former No. 2 overall pick in a salary dump was hardly the blockbuster move people were expecting.
However, this trade has deeper implications than the simple swap reveals on the surface. It's obviously quite a nice haul for Nets general manager Sean Marks, but who won this trade when all is said and done?
To sort it out, here are NBA Trade Grades for both sides.
NBA Trade Grades
Mar 9, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell (1) dribbles against the Phoenix Suns during the first half at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Brooklyn Nets
It feels silly to say this about a team that went 20-62 last year, but it really is impressive what Sean Marks has already done with such a bare cupboard of assets. This trade for D'Angelo Russell is his finest accomplishment to date.
Yes, the Nets have to take on Mozgov's albatross of a contract, which will pay him $54 million over the next three seasons, but according to Sporting News' Sean Deveney, they were reportedly in the market to absorb ugly contracts with assets attached anyway. It makes sense given their abundance of cap space, making Mozzy's deal more than worth the price of adding Russell.
Players who matched D'Angelo Russell's 3P% and PTS, AST and REB per 36 minutes through 1st two seasons: Curry, Bird, Manu, CP3 & Harden… https://t.co/Wk0QMytg65
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) June 20, 2017
Jeremy Lin supporters probably won't be thrilled with this move, but Russell is a 21-year-old who averaged 15.6 points, 4.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game on 35.2 percent shooting from three-point range in just his second season. He could very well become this team's franchise point guard, especially if Lin struggles with injury woes again next year.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson could also try playing them together since Russell has combo guard potential. Either way, he's an excellent addition to a team that needs young talent to groom at pretty much every position.
Brook Lopez deserves acknowledgement for being a trooper during such a difficult rebuilding time, but he'll be rewarded with one year of L.A. sunshine before hitting free agency.
He was entirely expendable by the end, and wasting away what's left of his prime — 20.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.7 BPG, 1.8 3PM this year — on a terrible team. The Nets also needed to squeeze value out of his expiring contract now, before the final season of his deal. That being said, he was a true Brooklyn Net during his time there.
As for the 27th overall pick, that's 100 percent expendable considering the return. Landing even a rotation player at that juncture in the draft is a coin flip, even in a loaded draft class. Brooklyn also still has its other first-rounder to use at No. 22, via the Washington Wizards from the Bojan Bogdanovic trade.
Maybe Russell will never live up to the hype, or maybe he's a future star who's been misjudged early in his career. Either way, the Nets are the perfect team to take a risk like this, even at the cost of having Mozgov's deal on the books for the next three years.
Grade: A
NBA Trade Grades
Dec 14, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez (11) controls the ball against Los Angeles Lakers center Timofey Mozgov (20) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Lakers
On the surface, this seems like a boneheaded move from the Lakers. Giving up on Russell's potential is a risky move, especially since the chip that's now on his shoulder is only going to motivate a young talent most known for having "ice in his veins."
However, according to ESPN's Chad Ford, the market for Russell wasn't particularly encouraging, and when teams selecting in the lottery weren't interested, Brook Lopez and a very late first-rounder became the best they could do in a crunch.
The real value of this deal comes with not only getting Mozgov's contract off the books, but what the Lakers plan to do with that cap space, as Woj explains:
For the Lakers, this is longer-term play to clear space for Paul George and LeBron James pursuit. Lonzo Ball on way at No.2 https://t.co/KxfdEuAUO0
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 20, 2017
Trading the team's main point guard obviously clears the way for Magic Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka to take UCLA's Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick in the draft. He was probably their man all along, but Josh Jackson entered the mix for awhile there. With Russell gone, it all but assures Ball and his exceptional passing abilities will be heading to Hollywood.
As for the cap space, though the Lakers were discussing trade options for Paul George to add him immediately, they refused to offer Brandon Ingram or the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.
For a team that can simply wait until free agency next summer with the knowledge that George wants to sign with his hometown Lakers, it makes sense they were unwilling to budge there.
There is risk there, however, aside from the obvious scenario where D'Angelo Russell becomes a star point guard. Not trading for George now means he'll probably play for another team next year, since the Indiana Pacers have to move him and get whatever they can for their franchise superstar.
The most likely outcome is PG-13 is a one-year rental for a contender like the Cleveland Cavaliers, but there's a chance the allure of winning and playing with other star talent convinces him to spurn the Lakers in free agency and re-up with whatever team lands him in a trade.
That's why the Lakers entered the trade market for George, and though this trade frees up the cap space to sign him next summer — and potentially make a move for LeBron James, who's been rumored to be considering a migration west in 2018 free agency — it could very well come back to bite L.A. if Ball never pans out or if they're unable to land the big fish they're preparing to reel in.
However, we should also note that according to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Lakers aren't ready to give up on a trade to secure Paul George if they can put their newest asset to good use — all while keeping Ingram and the No. 2 pick:
In the short-term, Brook Lopez is a nice pickup at center who should make next season more entertaining. He and Ball may even improve the Lakers enough to avoid that 2-5 range in next year's draft lottery, which is unwanted territory since their 2018 first-rounder would go to their rival Boston Celtics if it lands there.
Then, next summer, Lopez comes off the books and the Lakers have plenty of cap room to work with in their pursuit of King James and PG-13.
If the Lakers manage to land their free agency targets next summer, we'll have to retroactively bump up the grade for this deal, but for the time being, shipping off a misunderstood player with talent like D'Angelo Russell for such a meager package is underwhelming.
We also can't ignore that the Lakers had to include a former No. 2 overall pick to get Mozgov — the atrocious first signing of the 2016 NBA free agency period — off the books less than a year later.
This is a defendable deal for the Lakers, who can add a possible franchise point guard in Ball, ship off a player who underwhelmed in his first two seasons, and create cap space/alternative trade offers for Paul George. It could also very easily blow up in their faces if that PG-13/LeBron pairing turns out to be a pipe dream.
Grade: B
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