Los Angeles Lakers Trade D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to Free Up Cap Space
The Los Angeles Lakers didn't waste any time in getting this deal done.
The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that the Lakers have agreed to ship D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets for Brook Lopez and the 27th overall pick in this year's draft.
Some fans probably don't like this trade because the Lakers are giving up a talented young player with a lot of potential in Russell for Lopez and a low first-round pick. But the deal allows them to dump the three years, $54 million left on Mozgov's contract. Lopez's contract is also expiring after the season, so they will free up a lot of cap space next summer.
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With the extra cap space, the Lakers can now go after a marquee free agent (LeBron James) in the 2018 offseason, and this also allows them to pursue Paul George this summer.
The Lakers can always wait until next summer to sign George, but it seems that they aren't going to wait. ESPN's Marc Stein has reported that the Lakers are already discussing a trade involving the All-Star forward.
"Trading for George now would obviously come at a cost for the Lakers, but it would also insulate them from the possibility that another team gambles on a one-season rental with the highly coveted two-way swingman and uses a successful season to persuade George to stay," ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein wrote in their report.
However, the Pacers' asking price is too steep right now. Apparently, they want the Lakers to include the second overall pick in the deal and that's not going to happen. With Russell gone, the Lakers will have to get a new point guard, and they will probably do that via the draft.
According to Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News, talks between the two teams are at a standstill right now.
