The Los Angeles Lakers are sending D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets for Brook Lopez 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.