After all sorts of rumors involving Paul George, Jimmy Butler, and Kristaps Porzingis, the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets have swept in under everyone's noses and reportedly made a shocking trade according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. 

 

The deal will reportedly send D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to Brooklyn in exchange for Brook Lopez and the No. 27 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

 

The Lakers, as you may recall, signed Mozgov to a four-year, $64M deal just last offseason which was widely panned as a big mistake at the time. Now, after Mozgov played just 54 games in his first season in Los Angeles, the Lakers have essentially given up on D'Angelo Russell in order to shed the three years left on his deal. 

 

With the trade, the Lakers begin their journey towards creating enough cap space to sign Paul George -- who has told the whole world that his first choice is to join the Lakers -- and perhaps LeBron James. 

 

Wojnarowski notes that the Lakers will indeed be taking Lonzo Ball with the No. 2 pick. 

 

The Atlanta Hawks are reportedly trading veteran Dwight Howard to the Charlotte Hornets, according to Marc Spears of ESPN on Tuesday. Howard will be playing for his third team in as many seasons. He had consistent stretches with both the Magic and Rockets, but his tenures with the Lakers and Hawks prove that a bad fit can be detrimental.

 

The deal will send Howard and the 31st pick in Thursday's NBA Draft to Charlotte in exchange for Miles Plumlee, Marco Belinelli and 41st pick, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. This is a decent gamble by the Hornets as Belinelli and Plumlee were both contracts that made future decisions difficult for Charlotte.

 

Howard has struggled to find a place that could bring out the best in him. He's battled with systems and coaches while gaining a reputation as a headache.