Unfortunately for D’Angelo Russell and Los Angeles Lakers fans who loved him, he was a casualty of doing business in the NBA. Although Russell was one of L.A.’s most talented players, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka traded him to the Brooklyn Nets because they were focused on the future.
Russell proved to be a prolific scorer for the Lakers and looked to be on the brink of becoming an All-Star. However, due to a bad contract L.A. desperately needed to get out of, Johnson and Pelinka had to offer him in a trade package that would rid them of Timofey Mozgov’s $64 million salary over four years.