Video: Nets Fans Chant 'Thank You, Magic' While D'Angelo Russell Shoots FTs
Trading D'Angelo Russell is perhaps Magic Johnson's biggest blunder as Los Angeles Lakers president.
On Wednesday, Brooklyn Nets fans let Johnson know they appreciated it.
Nets fans broke out into a chant of "Thank you, Magic" as Russell shot free throws in the second quarter of Wednesday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Russell, the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft, spent his first two seasons with the Lakers. He was an enigmatic-but-promising player who flashed potential on the court but sparked locker room turmoil when a video he filmed of teammate Nick Young seemingly admitting to cheating on his then-fiancee, rapper Iggy Azalea, was leaked.
One of Johnson's first major moves after taking over as Lakers president was trading Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Nets for Brook Lopez and the draft pick that became Kyle Kuzma.
That was an enormous mistake.
The Lakers did not need to trade Russell before handing over the keys to fellow point guard Lonzo Ball last season. D-Lo has proved capable of playing off the ball, and Ball has been doing so at times this season alongside LeBron James and Rajon Rondo.
The Lakers also did not need to trade Mozgov to open up cap space for James; they needed to trade him to create a second max slot. Paul George currently wearing an Oklahoma City Thunder uniform should be all the evidence you need of how that panned out.
Snagging a high-upside contributor Kuzma at No. 27 does not justify the trade since the Lakers entered the draft with the No. 28 overall pick as well. Had the Nets stood pat with their pick and bypassed Kuzma, he would have fallen into the Lakers' laps either way.
In a nutshell: Nets fans are spot-on in their assessment.
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