‘I like the trade’… Byron Scott gives verdict on both sides of LA Lakers double deal

A four-player deal was agreed with the Brooklyn Nets to acquire Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton, sending D’Angelo Russell and Maxwell Lewis in the opposite direction.

Former NBA star Patrick Beverley was among the ex-pros to instantly react, and claimed the Nets got the better deal.

Finney-Smith has meanwhile made a strong impression in LA, with Anthony Davis labelling him a ‘defensive monster’.

Byron Scott likes Lakers two signings

Byron Scott told his Fast Break YouTube channel that he likes the trade from a LA Lakers perspective, in regards to both Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton.

He says he has already spotted signs the pair have helped the Lakers, giving them what they have been missing.

Scott said: “I think it thinks already helped. You got two players back from Jersey. Both of these guys are very good defensive players, decent offensive players.

“I think what the Lakers have needed over the last couple of years is that wing, that wing perimeter defender who can also knock down a three.”

Scott’s one question was whether the trade will transform the team enough, adding: “Yeah I like the trade, I think it’s good on both ends of the floor for the Lakers, you know, but will this trade get them to the next level?

“That’s that’s a question that’s gonna need to be answered later on in the season.”

Byron Scott on D’Angelo Russell

Moving the other way was D’Angelo Russell, who was traded to the Brooklyn Nets from the LA Lakers for a second time, following a similar exchange in 2017.

Russell scored 24 points on his first game back in Brooklyn, and Scott believes the pressure-free environment suits him, a player he once coached in Los Angeles.

He explained: “It’s a different amount of pressure when you play here in LA as we know, when you got that purple and gold on and you playing here in LA, it’s a different pressure than playing New Jersey, where there’s no expectations of winning a championship right now out there.

“He can play freely, there’s not going to be a lot of whispering going on when he has bad games, like it was here in LA. So I think I think on both ends, it probably was good for both parties.

“It eases his mind where he can just kind of go out there and be free and play, and it gets Lakers some guys that who have already shown that they can come in here and be contributors.”

Russell said he was grateful to be traded to a familiar surroundings, which have no doubt made his transition to his new team a lot easier.

Maxwell Lewis suffered an early injury minutes into his Nets debut, but he too could thrive away from the LA pressure bubble.

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