The Los Angeles Lakers have made a number of questionable personnel decisions over the past few seasons. One decision they made that looks vindicated now is moving on from D'Angelo Russell as he is struggling on his new team.
Russell was used as the primary outgoing salary last December when the Lakers traded for Dorian Finney-Smith. It was not an obvious decision at the time; the Brooklyn Nets surely wanted Russell's expiring contract over Gabe Vincent or another longer-term deal, but the Lakers traded away a rotation player with a lot of Lakers history in Russell.
When Dorian Finney-Smith walked in free agency this summer after a blowout first-round playoff loss, the question was raised: Did the Lakers make a mistake moving on from D'Angelo Russell?