Magic Johnson on D'Angelo Russell trade: 'Not a hard decision'

Magic Johnson, the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Lakers, has said that it wasn't a hard decision to trade third-year guard D'Angelo Russell. The Lakers began their offseason by sending Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange of Brook Lopez.

Russell was the Lakers' starting point guard through his first two seasons in the league. Soon after the Lakers landed the No. 2 overall pick in last month's NBA Draft, several teams were reportedly calling Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka about a potential Russell trade. With point guard Lonzo Ball ready to take charge of the Lakers, league insiders believe Johnson considered Russell as an expendable part of the young core.

According to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, "Magic said once he moves on from someone, there's no looking back." The five-time NBA champion and leader of "the Showtime" era revealed that up to five teams called the Lakers front office regarding a D'Angelo Russell trade. When asked if it was a hard decision to move on from the combo guard, Johnson said "no."

A month before Russell got traded to Brooklyn, Johnson told a radio station in L.A. that second-year forward Brandon Ingram was the only "untouchable" player from the team's young core. Johnson was forthright in his critique of Russell's game and asked the young guard to work on his leadership and defence, ahead of the 2017-18 NBA season. As it turns out, the Lakers have replaced Russell with Lonzo Ball and acquired former Detroit Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to slide into the role of starting two-guard.

"I want to see D'Angelo make better decisions. And also be a better leader. I want to see him coming into the leadership role, because we know he can score the basketball. Now, you have to be a better defender, a guy who can lead his teammates and do a better job of that," Johnson said in May.

D'Angelo Russell, drafted No. 2 overall by the Lakers in 2015, averaged 15.6 points, 4.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds during his second season in the league. Despite question marks about his leadership and defensive abilities, Russell is widely projected as a future all-star in the NBA.