After the Los Angeles Lakers traded Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to the Nets last month in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton, he dropped 22 points off the bench in his season debut with Brooklyn in a 130-113 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 1.

Russell has struggled to stay on the floor since joining the Nets in a Dec. 29 trade from the Los Angeles Lakers. He's missed six of the team's 13 matchups while battling shin and hamstring ailments. The veteran point guard has shouldered a much heavier on-ball burden than with the Lakers during the first half of this season.

D'Angelo Russell is seven games into his second spell with the Brooklyn Nets. The veteran guard was sent to his former team as part of the deal that saw Dorian Finney-Smith land with the Los Angeles Lakers.

As the calendar turned toward 2025, the Los Angeles Lakers made a bold roster move, trading D'Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for versatile forward Dorian Finney-Smith and sharpshooter Gabe Vincent.

D’Angelo Russell is adjusting to a featured role with the Brooklyn Nets following a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers. After a tumultuous start to the season in Los Angeles under head coach JJ Redick,