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Well this was not the trade anyone was expecting, but it's still a big trade nonetheless.

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. 

In addition, Wojnarowski notes that the Lakers will indeed be taking LaVar Ball's son with the No. 2 pick. 

Both of those potential deals, however, are still a long ways off, and certainly the LeBron part of the equation is no guarantee. 

As for the Nets, this was a brilliant deal for them, as they found a way to acquire a talented young point guard during a time when they are lacking both talent and high draft picks. 

Whether Russell pans out in Brooklyn of course remains to be seen, but agreeing to pay Mozgov's salary for the opportunity to see if Russell can be a star is certainly worth it.