Lakers' Pelinka Thanks D'Angelo Russell After Trade, Hypes Finney-Smith's 'Toughness'

Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka thanked D'Angelo Russell for his contributions to the team following Sunday's trade with the Brooklyn Nets that saw the Lakers acquire Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton for Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks.

"We want to thank D'Angelo for his second stint with us, where we celebrated some great moments and accomplishments on the court together," he said in a statement. "We want to wish him and Lewis well in their future endeavors with the Nets. With this trade, we are thrilled to add the physicality, toughness and elite shooting that Finney-Smith will bring to our core. We also greatly value the playmaking of Milton. We are excited for our fans to get both of these players out on the court."

Russell's departure was always coming. He was moved to a bench role in November, with Austin Reaves and Max Christie emerging as J.J. Redick's preferred starting backcourt, and his stats this season (12.4 PPG, 4.7 APG, 41.5 field-goal percentage, 33.3 percent from three) were some of the worst of his career.

At one point, Russell was supposed to be the third option for the Lakers behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis. This season, however, he's been just the fifth-leading scorer, and given some of his past postseason struggles with the team, moving on made sense.

In Finney-Smith, the Lakers will get a much-needed addition on the wing. The 3-and-D veteran is averaging 10.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, shooting 43.5 percent from three. He's the sort of player that makes a ton of sense around the playmaking James.

If Milton can provide some minutes off the bench, meanwhile, the Lakers could have their reserve backcourt set, with Gabe Vincent also available. Milton is averaging 7.4 points and 2.4 assists per game this season.

The Lakers shouldn't be done upgrading the roster ahead of the February trade deadline, with center still a major need to alleviate some wear and tear for Davis down on the block. And the Lakers could always see if any stars become available as well, though that would require tapping into the limited first-round draft capital they have the ability to trade.