JJ Redick Praises D’Angelo Russell After Lakers-Nets Trade: ‘We’re Gonna Miss a Lot’

Taylyn HadleyJanuary 1, 2025

Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ trade of D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith, Lakers coach J.J. Redick had high praise for the 28-year-old guard.

“We’re gonna miss his playmaking. We’re gonna miss his ball-handling. We’re gonna miss his shooting,” Redick said, per Lakers Nation’s Daniel Starkand. “He’s had several game, including recently the second game in Sac, the Portland game here, where we don’t win those games without him….We’re gonna miss a lot from DLo.”

Bleacher Report @BleacherReportBreaking: Lakers have traded D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to the Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton, per @ShamsCharania

D-Lo is heading back to Brooklyn 🤯 pic.twitter.com/OtolP22KGy

“Loved coaching DLo. I told you guys this before, I spent more time with that guy and on the phone this summer, on the golf course,” Reddick said, according to Starkand. “I told him many times that I want a great outcome for him and I’m hoping he has a great rest of the year.”

The first-year head coach shares a close bond with Russell, having played alongside him during Russell’s rookie season with the Lakers in 2015-16 and again in 2016-17.

Having shared the court with him and now coaching him are separate experiences, but Redick praised Russell’s on-court abilities, admitting that the Lakers would have lost a handful of games without him.

Russell was the Lakers second-leading scorer in the Lakers 103-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Dec. 21 with 20 points.

Redick added that the entire dynamic of the lineup and substitutions will undergo a significant change following Russell’s departure.

“I think with the way we substitute and the way we’ve kind of evolved with some of the non-starting lineups and how those things go,” Redick said per Starkand. “AR (Austin reaves) and LeBron (James) will be out there sometimes together and sometimes on their own. So they’re gonna have as much, if not more, responsibility in terms of playmaking.”

The Lakers will play against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday at home.