With NBA trade season in full swing, a few big, opposing teams made deals on Sunday. Here’s what you think of the D’Angelo Russell transfer, which sees Russell move from Los Angeles to Brooklyn for the second time in his career.

Lakers received: Dorian Finney-Smith, Shake Milton
Get networks: D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, Three second-round picks (2027, 2030, 2031)

The Lakers are getting closer and closer to the right mix

For the Lakers, this trade is all about balance. Finney-Smith and Milton don’t have the same name recognition or natural talent as Russell, but they should make a bigger impact than a pure talent comparison suggests by providing more balance and depth to head coach JJ Redick.

First and foremost, Finney-Smith will bolster bottom-10 Los Angeles’ defense as a competent 6-foot-7 forward. His career-high 3-point percentage (43.5%) may not hold up, but he should remain a good shooter while playing against LeBron James and Anthony Davis to give the Lakers that kind of 3-and-D connection offer that every aspirant needs.

Meanwhile, Milton may not be a key player, but he’s the type of backup guard who can shoot, take care of himself in a pinch, and get hot enough to occasionally change the game. He’s a good third or fourth guard behind Austin Reaves, Max Christie and Gabe Vincent.

Russell is a one-sided player who hasn’t played well enough on that side of the field. The 28-year-old former All-Star is hitting 33.3% this season after shooting better than 40% from deep in the last two seasons and flirting with a 60% shooting percentage. His points per shot attempt of 1.07 ranks in the 36th percentile among point guards, according to Cleaning The Glass. The Lakers lose some depth in this deal, but James and Reaves should offer enough to cover the loss.

While the idea of ​​Russell makes this seem like a talent downgrade, the Lakers have actually turned an inefficient scorer and a leaky defender into a pair of helpful depth players. They paid the price for second-rounders, but there’s little downside to this deal because LA Finney-Smith’s $15.4 million player option for next season could complicate matters, but the final two years of Milton’s contract are not guaranteed, so they have It is not absolutely necessary that the salary will continue to be covered in the future. And the Lakers will save about $15 million in the short term thanks to the tax implications of the trade.

This won’t change the Lakers’ trajectory all that much. They’re a solid team led by two aging greats, but they’re not good enough to compete for a title. But they should still try to build a winner – or at least the best possible team – around their two stars. Sunday’s trading allowed them to gradually improve without depriving them of the assets needed for a major rally (although that rally remains unlikely).

Nets want a clean slate

After moving past the failed Big Three experiment of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, Brooklyn further signaled its short-term intentions by trading Mikal Bridges in the offseason for a boatload of draft capital. The tanking Nets then quickly traded veteran point guard Dennis Schroder after starting the season with surprisingly competent basketball. By trading Finney-Smith and Milton for Russell’s expiring contract, general manager Sean Marks continues to implement what appears to be a pretty obvious plan.

The Nets want to clear the slate by getting to the bottom of the standings and collecting as many draft picks as possible. This deal ticks all of those boxes, and I can see Cam Johnson and Nic Claxton being next (if there’s a market for the declining Claxton). The only other players Brooklyn has under contract for next season are sophomores Noah Clowney, Jalen Wilson and Dariq Whitehead, while Cam Thomas, Ziaire Williams and Day’Ron Sharpe are scheduled for restricted free agency.

Joseph Casciaro is theScore’s lead Raptors and NBA reporter.