Originally Posted by
Troublemaker
Adrian WojnarowskiVerified account @WojVerticalNBA 11m11 minutes ago
Lakers are trading Tim Mozgov and D'Angelo Russell to Nets for Brook Lopez and 27th pick Thursday, sources say.
Wow, that's the cost of signing Mozgov to a dumb contract. You have to give away a young asset like Russell* to get rid of the contract. Lopez's contract is expiring, so the Lakers are setting themselves up for 2018 free agency. I wouldn't be surprised if they dropped out of the Paul George pursuit at this point.
* While there is some reason to believe Russell won't ever live up to his #2 draft slot, it's also a bit early to be giving up on him. That's why the Nets were interested and willing to take on Mozgov.
Since the Nets basically never have their first round pick again, this is the only way for them to get young talent. Eating Mozgov's salary for three years isn't a bad way to do it, and Russell seems like a worthy risk to take a flier on.
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