Los Angeles Lakers Trade for Nets' Dorian Finney-Smith

The Nets made a deal on Sunday morning to offload firepower and bring a familiar face back to Brooklyn.

Nov 27, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell (1) shoots the ball in the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

On Sunday morning, per ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Brooklyn Nets agreed on a deal to send forward Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to the Los Angeles Lakers for D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second round selections.

BREAKING: The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed on a trade sending D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton, sources told ESPN. pic.twitter.com/V175zGtmKW

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 29, 2024

The deal is the second in what is sure to be a string of trades designed to help Brooklyn land a top 2025 NBA Draft pick. After starting out with a better record than many anticipated, the Nets have now offloaded win-now players in Dennis Schroder to the Golden State Warriors, and now the highly-coveted Finney-Smith to Lakers.

Finney-Smith is amidst one of the better seasons in his career, scoring 10.4 points per game while shooting a career-high 44% from beyond the arc on over five attempts. There have been reports of various teams desiring his talents, and the Lakers seems to be the one to have gotten the deal across the finish line.

Sunday’s move makes sense for both sides, as the Lakers now add a win-now three-and-D player on the wing, and Brooklyn adds future draft selections, a young prospect and a familiar face at the guard spot.

Russell spent the 2017 through 2019 with the Nets, seeing some of his best scoring output in his final season with the team. Brooklyn will likely look to flip him for even more value as they near the trade deadline, as Russell is sure to add a few wins here and there.

Brooklyn is assuredly not done, as the trade deadline arrives on Feb. 6, 2025.

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