Why D’Angelo Russell changes the direction of the Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets pulled off a major pre-draft blockbuster when they acquired D’Angelo Russell. The team now has higher expectations with their point guard of the future in tow.
One player usually isn’t capable of taking a bottom-rung team and making them a contender. There are a handful of players that are capable, but none of those players will be making their way to the Brooklyn Nets for at least a few years.
That doesn’t mean that certain players can’t change the direction of a franchise. Nets fans certainly feel that things are looking up following the acquisition of D’Angelo Russell.
Yes, it stings that longtime Net Brook Lopez is gone. However, he may have been a goner in one year’s time anyway. The Stanford product may command a max deal that Brooklyn isn’t willing to hand out.
Russell could be under team control for another six to seven years. The 6-foot-3 floor general possesses top notch court vision and the ability to stroke the long ball. Kenny Atkinson hopes Russell will buy into the culture.
"“He’s going to be swept along by the culture, hopefully. And if he’s not, we’re going to have to have a little talk in my office and get that straightened out.’’"
Russell is a different kind of player than the Nets have had in a longtime. In terms of upside, the team hasn’t had a player of Russell’s caliber since Deron Williams when he first arrived in New Jersey six years ago.
Perhaps the most underrated aspect of the Russell acquisition is how he can help the development of the players around him. Caris LeVert, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Archie Goodwin and Jarrett Allen all stand to benefit from playing off of Russell.
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The Nets played an up-tempo style offense last season despite lacking the personnel to do so. Lopez, Bojan Bogdanovic and Joe Harris lacked the foot-speed to keep up with the elite athletes other teams possess.
The Nets now not only possess several high end athletes, they also feature a floor general who can initiate it. While Jeremy Lin can be a threat in transition, he was slowed down by injuries in his first season in Brooklyn.
Marks may also move Lin this off-season if the right deal comes around. Russell figures to be a long-term fixture in Brooklyn.
When Russell was drafted, he was considered the #2 overall prospect in the 2015 draft class. Karl Anthony-Towns, the top prospect, has performed to his draft slot and was the consensus rookie of the year in 2015-16.
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Russell, on the other hand, has seen his stock plummet. Many consider Kristaps Porzingis, Devin Booker and even Myles Turner to have become more valuable NBA players from that same draft class.
That should all change in Brooklyn. For the first time in his career, Russell has a coach who believes in him and a front office that is willing to build around him.
In his first year in Los Angeles, Russell was misused by Byron Scott and overshadowed by Kobe Bryant’s year-long farewell tour. In year two, he dealt with the repercussions of the Snapchat incident with Nick Young and trudged through a season with minimal talent around him due to the Lakers’ intentions of tanking to keep their top three draft selection.
Now, Russell is the centerpiece of the Nets rebuild. As much as he needed a change of scenery, the Brooklyn Nets also needed a player like him. Russell changes the direction of the franchise. It is no longer about waiting out losing seasons until the team has a cornerstone. The Nets now have one.