In his first offseason as president of basketball operations, Magic Johnson, has wasted little time in stamping his authority on the Los Angeles Lakers. The famous Purple and Gold went into Thursday night's draft with the second pick but it was clear they had their attentions focused on bigger and better things.Unsurprisingly, the NBA's second most successful franchise chose UCLA star Lonzo Ball with the second choice, but it was their moves before the draft that really highlighted LA's aims for the future. In a huge switch, the franchise traded away 2015 number two pick D'Angelo Russell in a salary dump. Timofey Mozgov's huge four-year, $64 million contract was sent to Brooklyn alongside the guard in exchange for Brook Lopez and the draft rights to Kyle Kuzma.Losing Mozgov's contract and adding former All-Star, Lopez, who will be a free agent in 2018, leaves the Lakers plenty of cap space as they prepare to make moves for Paul George and maybe even LeBron James in 12 months.
LOADING NO MORE
Some fans are unhappy that Magic gave up on Russell after his sophomore campaign. Despite struggles on and off the floor, there has been enough evidence to suggest the 21-year-old can become a star.
Through two seasons, Russell's per-36-minute stats of 15.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists on 35.1% from the field are only matched by Stephen Curry, Larry Bird, Manu Ginobili, Chris Paul and James Harden. All Hall of Fame players.
However, Johnson, a first-ballot Hall of Famer in his own right, explained why he opted to lose Russell.
Having drafted Ball to run the point, Johnson said: "D'Angelo Russell is an excellent player. He has the talent to be an All-Star.
"We want to thank him for what he did for us. But what I needed was a leader. I needed somebody also that can make the other players better and also [somebody] that players want to play with."
FUTURE
The Lakers' young duo of Ball and Brandon Ingram have been tasked with leading the franchise out of their rebuilding phase, meaning players like Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle are on the trade block if the right deal comes up.
It has been reported that either player could be used in a potential package for George as the franchise make the switch to win-now mode.
Johnson has been trusted by Jeanie Buss to lead this new era of Lakers basketball. Trading D'Angelo Russell was just the first move in what will be a huge summer.