The Los Angeles Lakers made an important move this offseason as they managed to offload Timofey Mozgov's contract to the Brooklyn Nets, but it came at something of a price. 

They also had to include young guard D'Angelo Russell in the trade and it was met with mixed reactions. 

Some were pleased to get him off the books due to his off-court antics and the extra cap space it would create to pursue free agents in 2018. 

Whereas others felt the organisation gave up too easily on a talented young player who is yet to reach his full potential. 

The Lakers selected Russell with the number two pick in the 2015 draft and he has shown flashes of his talent during two years in L.A. but he was unable to find any consistency. 

But D-Lo is keen to begin a new journey in Brooklyn and has described how he felt when he was informed of the trade to New York. 

“I was excited. I was excited to get a new opportunity to start over, but it definitely caught me off guard," he said. "You see guys get traded you never think it would have to be you until it does. New step for me.”

Despite admitting that he was surprised by the trade, the 21-year-old says he has no bad feelings toward the Lakers and understands the nature of the game.

“It’s business, man. That’s how I got to look at it," Russell added. "A lot of things happen in this league and you don’t agree with it or however you may feel about it and at the end of the day realize it’s business.”

After trading Russell to the Nets, Lakers president Magic Johnson had some interesting words to say about the youngster. 

The Hall of Famer said he wasn't a leader and instead wanted guys "that can make the other players better and also [somebody] that players want to play with", which was perceived to be a shot at Russell.

“I mean, it is what it is. They’re the Lakers, we’re the Nets," Russell said. "There is nothing we can control over there and there is nothing they can control over here. I don’t really like looking back and speaking on that. There’s nothing to really bring about.”

It was a very mature reaction from the former Ohio State man but you can definitely expect it to give him extra motivation for when he meets the Lakers for the first time next season.