Brooklyn Nets: The D’Angelo Russell Reacclimation Project

The Brooklyn Nets are taking a risk with D’Angelo Russell. But Russell has his risks. After demonstrating some poor behavior in Los Angeles, the Nets will have to decide if the risk is worth the reward.

It has been nearly two months since the Brooklyn Nets had acquired the future of the franchise. Since he had become a Net, Russell has said all the right things in the mainstream media and on social media. He’s said how happy and excited he is to be playing in Brooklyn. Russell has expressed how great a coach he thinks head coach Kenny Atkinson is. He’s also excited to be playing with this core of players.

But it’s easy to talk the talk. It’s much harder to walk the walk, especially in a city like Brooklyn.

After the Lakers took him second overall in 2015, fans declared Russell to be the successor to Kobe Bryant’s mantle. He was the next face of the franchise, a title maybe a little premature for an 18-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky.

Either the pressure of having an entire franchise on his shoulders or just some bad judgement got to him. We’re, of course, talking about the Nick Young saga. Russell recorded his former teammate talking about how he cheated on his then-girlfriend Iggy Azalea. He then put the conversation on his Snap Chat.

Immediately, teammates, coaches and personnal began questioning his character. Just like being in any good, functioning relationship, the main ingredient is trust. Trust is a key component to establishing a healthy or toxic relationship. It will take the rest of your life to build a good reputation and only one instance to destroy it. Basically, when you lose the trust aspect; you lose everything.

But does a 19-year-old having a lapse in judgement make him a bad person? Probably not, as I’m sure we can all remember how many times we have had lapses in judgement. I know at 36, I have had many.

Maybe the spotlight was too bright. After all, he wanted to prove he was the next big thing in LA. Or maybe Kobe wasn’t being the proper mentor to him. Maybe the pressure of going from Louisville to the heir to the Black Mamba got to him. Perhaps Bryant did not mentor Russell as much as the Lakers would have wanted.

There are a lot of maybes in this scenario. But one thing is for certain: that incident put a target on Russell’s back. He lost the trust of his teammates, the respect from his coaches and even the admiration of certain fans.

But in Brooklyn, the scenario shifted. He’s not trying to repair his own reputation, nor is he playing with players that don’t trust him. Instead, he is trying to make sure that the Nets don’t dissolve their base.

Brooklyn is attempting to build from the ground up. The team laid the foundation and are letting it set. Their message to him is simple, he is the guy. There is no more need to chase the shadows of a legend. Russell has to build his own court. Heavy expectations and championship banners don’t surround him anymore. Instead, he’s around players who know how hard they have had to work to get where they are now.

Now, Atkinson and company have to rebuild Russell. He needs to start believing in himself again.  No longer burdened with the task of being a savior, maybe now he can play his own game. He says he likes to play “heady” and enjoys being the underdog. He enjoys people counting him out and telling him he is a bust. He’s got his wish, now it’s time for him to prove the naysayers wrong.

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His teammates have clawed their ways to the Nets. This grit may be exactly what he needs to awaken the beast that’s inside him. People tend to hand things to those that are talented. But the players on the Nets have earned their stay. They earned the league-worst 20 wins last season. Now, they are on their way to earning respect in this league.