How Losing A Former All-Star Makes The Los Angeles Lakers Better

On Sunday, the NBA world was met with the news that the Los Angeles Lakers traded away D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three second round picks to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton.

To some, this move may seem confusing. Russell is a former All-Star who is still only 28 and, as recently as last year, averaged 18.0 PPG. Why would a team that is trying to squeeze one more run out of the LeBron James/Anthony Davis era move him (along with other assets) to acquire two seemingly unspectacular role players?

The answer requires some explanation (in two prongs), but it’s worth following along because it serves as the perfect example of how building a successful roster works in basketball.

On-Court Component

As it was constructed, the Lakers’ roster was sorely lacking in balance. They had an abundance of offense-first on-ball creators (Russell, Austin Reaves, and James), and not enough two-way players.