Lakers trade grade for D’Angelo Russell-Dorian Finney-Smith deal…

The Los Angeles Lakers took a step towards improving their roster this weekend in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets sending D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second round picks for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. It seemed like it was only a matter of time as Russell’s name has popped up in trade rumors throughout his return to the Lakers. Following the trade, we will assess a grade for the move.

Before the trade, D’Angelo Russell had settled into a bench role and had been playing well for the most part. Given the Lakers’ uncertainty with the backcourt rotation, having a veteran presence steering the second unit actually gave the team pause for a potential Russell trade.

But in recent weeks, both Austin Reaves and Gabe Vincent have been playing very well, which in turn made the Lakers more open on a potential Russell deal, as per ClutchPoints’ Lakers insider Anthony Irwin.

With that said, here’s a look and a grade for how the Lakers ultimately fared by moving D’Angelo Russell for Dorian Finney-Smith.

Lakers can still improve roster after Dorian Finney-Smith trade
To get right to the point, this was a stellar trade for the Lakers. While it’s been no secret that the Lakers have been exploring trades in hopes of upgrading the roster, it wasn’t like they had much on the roster in terms of actual trade value that they would be willing to part with.
With Dorian Finney-Smith, the Lakers picked up a quality role player who doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective. One of Russell’s greatest strengths was having the ball in his hands and being able to orchestrate the offense. It’s been Russell who has been adept at identifying the hot hand and continuing to feed them, especially rookie wing Dalton Knecht.

But the Lakers have clearly identified Austin Reaves as their primary ball-handler, and JJ Redick has a lot of trust in Gabe Vincent as the backup. In the grand scheme of things, Russell’s role had sort of been squeezed out when the team is fully healthy.