D’Angelo Russell’s exit from Lakers met with mixed reactions: ‘They could never make me hate you’

D’Angelo Russell’s second stint playing for the Los Angeles Lakers is over.

According to some Sunday reporting, Los Angeles is sending Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton.

There were mixed reactions from users on X to the news of Russell’s exit from the team, with some celebrating the news and others wishing him well.

The 28-year-old’s first stint with the Lakers came when he spent the first two seasons of his NBA career in Los Angeles after the team drafted him with the No. 2 overall pick back in the 2015 NBA Draft. He was eventually traded away, ironically to the Nets.

His second stint with L.A. started when the team acquired him during the 2022-23 season. He then spent the entire 2023-24 campaign with the squad and is now being moved midseason again.

Russell saw a relegation in his role with the Lakers this season compared to the 2023-24 campaign. He started only 10 of the 29 games he played in this season for L.A. He was also averaging a career-low 12.4 points per game while shooting just 41.5 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from 3-point range.

In the final game of his second stint with the Lakers, he dropped nine points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field and 1-of-4 shooting from deep in a win over the Sacramento Kings.

Years ago, Russell played some of the best basketball of his NBA career during his time with Brooklyn.

He spent the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons with the Nets and earned the only All-Star appearance of his career in his second season in Brooklyn. He averaged 21.1 points, 7.0 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game in his All-Star campaign.

It remains to be seen how the Lakers will do without Russell, but hopefully for him, he will return to the All-Star caliber player he was now that he’ll once again be a member of a Nets organization that he previously enjoyed some individual success with.

Lakers fans should keep tabs on how Russell fares in his first game back with the Nets and beyond.