BROOKLYN (Dec. 29, 2024) – The Brooklyn Nets have acquired guard D’Angelo Russell, forward Maxwell Lewis and three second round draft picks from the Los Angeles Lakers (a conditional pick in 2027 and unprotected picks in 2030 and 2031) in exchange for forward Dorian Finney-Smith and guard Shake Milton.
Russell (6’3”, 200) rejoins Brooklyn after previously spending two seasons (2017-19) with the Nets. The 28-year-old has appeared in 29 games (10 starts) for the Lakers this season, recording averages of 12.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 26.3 minutes per game while shooting 41.5 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from distance and 84.9 percent from the free-throw line. In 600 career games (510 starts) across 10 seasons with the Lakers (2023-24, 2015-17), Minnesota (2020-2023), Golden State (2019-20) and Brooklyn, Russell holds career averages of 17.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.1 steals in 30.0 minutes per game while shooting 42.9 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from 3-point range and 79.4 percent from the free-throw line. He has also played in 32 career playoff games (31 starts) across four postseason appearances, averaging 14.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 31.3 minutes per contest. In 129 games (116 starts) in his two seasons in Brooklyn, Russell recorded averages of 19.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 28.5 minutes per game, and he was named as a reserve for the 2019 NBA All-Star Game as a Net. The Louisville, Ky., native was originally selected by the Lakers with the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. He previously played one collegiate season (2014-15) at Ohio State, where he earned Associated Press First Team All-America, Big Ten Freshman of the Year and All-Big Ten First Team honors for the Buckeyes.
Lewis (6’7”, 215) has appeared in seven games for the Lakers this season. In 41 career games off the bench for the Lakers across two seasons (2023-24), he has averaged 3.2 minutes per contest. The 22-year-old has also appeared in 27 career NBA G League regular season games (all starts) for the South Bay Lakers while on assignment the past two seasons, recording averages of 15.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks in 29.0 minutes per game, as well as 14 Tip-Off Tournament games, posting averages of 16.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals in 31.8 minutes per contest. The Las Vegas native was selected by Denver with the 40th overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft and was dealt to the Lakers in a trade the following day. He previously played two collegiate seasons (2021-23) at Pepperdine, where he earned All-WCC Second Team honors as a sophomore and was named to the WCC All-Freshman Team in his debut season for the Waves.
Finney-Smith was originally acquired by Brooklyn on Feb. 6, 2023 in a trade with Dallas and appeared in 114 games (102 starts) for the Nets across three seasons, recording averages of 8.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 28.4 minutes per game. He averaged 10.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 29.0 minutes per contest in 20 games (all starts) for Brooklyn this season.
Milton was acquired by the Nets in a trade with New York on July 6, 2024. He appeared in 27 games (one start) for Brooklyn this season, posting averages of 7.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 18.2 minutes per game.