The Los Angeles Lakers dumped D’Angelo Russell in the Dorian Finney-Smith trade in 2024, and that deal keeps getting better for the purple and gold. D-Lo was just sent to his fourth team since leaving LA, and the Memphis Grizzlies are already trying to help him find a new home. The decline started with the Lakers, and the 6’3 guard has dropped off significantly over the last two years.
DFS didn’t last long with the purple and gold. They wisely let him walk after 43 games. It seemed foolish to give up three second-rounders for half a season of Finney-Smith, but the Lakers surprisingly traded for Luka Doncic and didn’t want a long-term deal on their books. It quickly looked like the right call as Doe-Doe struggled with the Rockets.
The Lakers drafted Russell in 2015 and traded him after just two years to dump Timofey Mozgov’s disastrous contract. D-Lo came back in the 2023 trade where LA moved on from Russell Westbrook. The Lakers went to the conference finals that year. Russell was a starter and key piece in the 2023-24 season, but things quickly went south after that.
The Lakers moved on from D’Angelo Russell at exactly the right time
D-Lo was benched just nine games into the 2024-25 season. He played just 25.0 minutes per game after that and was traded before the calendar even flipped to 2025. Russell took several shots at the Lakers after being traded, but his efficiency and production only further declined in Brooklyn and Dallas.
Russell didn’t even play for the Wizards after being traded to Washington in the Anthony Davis deal. He was dealt to Memphis this summer, and the Grizzlies don’t plan on having him play a single game for their franchise. D-Lo’s time in the NBA is winding down.
The Lakers wisely moved on when they did. Here is a look at the details of the trade.
Lakers received: Dorian Finney-Smith, Shake Milton
Nets acquired: D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, 3 second-round draft picks
The Lakers got rid of D-Lo and made the playoffs in a season of turmoil. Consider that a win. They moved on Russell and Finney-Smith at the right times. They were further vindicated for not giving DFS a long-term when the Rockets dumped him on the Charlotte Hornets after just one season.
Russell flopped on the Nets after this trade. He shot 36.7 percent from the field and 29.7 percent from 3-point range as Brooklyn had a negative-4.8 net rating with him on the floor.
The All-Star signed with Dallas in free agency only to fall completely out of their rotation before the AD trade. Russell was always a subpar defender, so the first signs of offensive slippage made it difficult to keep him on the floor. He is only 30 years old, but D-Lo may be done as a productive NBA player.
The Los Angeles Lakers keep looking better for moving on from D’Angelo Russell. He was in the final year of his contract, and it was time. The 6’3 guard wasn’t helping LA win, so they quickly moved on. He has declined significantly since and is about to be dumped by a second straight team before ever playing a game in their uniform. The Lakers got this one right, and there is no questioning that.
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