Nets fans should regulate D’Angelo Russell for the remainder of this regular season.
He is likely to be the weather vane to disclose what the team plans this offseason.
Russell returned to the court — scoring 12 points and handing out 4 assists in 25 minutes — for Tuesday’s 127-113 loss in San Antonio after missing the prior five games with a sprained ankle.
It marked just the second time since his arrival three months ago that the Nets had their preferred backcourt, Russell and Cam Thomas, playing together.
Watching the pair not known for his or her defense fit right into a team playing hard on that end of the court needs to be interesting.
But not nearly as interesting as what finally ends up happening with Russell.
No one can say with certainty what the Nets’ offseason plans are.
They’re likely not even set, with no idea where they’re drafting or who is on the market in trade.
But watching what happens with Russell can provide some signs on whether or not they’re going big-game (and big-name) hunting, or extending the tank one other 12 months.
After shipping out point guard Dennis Schroder on Dec. 15 — the primary day of the unofficial trading season — Brooklyn GM Sean Marks dealt Dorian Finney-Smith to the Lakers for Russell.
But they didn’t acquire Russell to exchange Schroder’s pick-and-roll prowess, but because Russell has an expiring contract that fit into Finney-Smith’s, and Russell got here with three second-round picks attached.
But Russell — whose 8.7 assists per 100 possessions with the Lakers were his worst since his rookie season — has handed out a dozen per 100 since joining the Nets, one of the best in his profession by an enormous margin.
With the ball in his hands and a leadership role, Russell is believed to have told those around him he desires to stay.
He scored 12 with 4 assists in Tuesday’s loss.
And despite the rebuild, the Nets keeping him around seems loads more likely than it did when he first arrived three months ago.
Yes, the Nets have probably the most cap space within the league at over $60 million.
But what was once a loaded free agent class has seen superstars Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell, Damian Lillard — and even standouts like Brandon Ingram, Lauri Markkanen, Rudy Gobert and Jamal Murray — come off the board with recent extensions.
Yes, Marks — who used to weaponize offer sheets in his first rebuild — could use cap space on restricted free agents like Jonathan Kuminga or Josh Giddey.
However the GM could kick the can down the road a 12 months, extending the tank one other season and punting his cap space into 2026.
If he does, a technique is giving Russell a one-year deal, or a two-year contract with a team option.
With the Nets sitting on a trove of cap space almost as big as the remainder of the league combined — Detroit is the one other team more likely to have greater than the mid-level exception — Russell’s suitors shall be limited.
And if no star who the Nets intend to pursue becomes available this summer via trade — Giannis Antetokounmpo, LaMelo Ball, Trae Young, etc. — then a short-term reunion could make sense for each parties.
Tuesday marked Russell’s first game since Feb. 20.
He got here in averaging 13.8 points and 5.8 assists for the Nets, and since arriving just after Recent Yr’s, they were 8-9 with him, but a horrid 1-10 without him and his playmaking.
That features dropping the previous 4 heading into the Spurs game.
But Brooklyn won the one game Russell and Thomas suited up together, a Jan. 2 victory at Milwaukee being one in all their more impressive results.
Russell handed out his Nets season-high 12 assists in beating the Bucks.
But Thomas suffered a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined until last week, with the pair not sharing the ground until Tuesday night.
How Russell meshes with Thomas — a restricted free agent himself — over the remainder of the season shall be intriguing.
But not as intriguing as what Russell’s fate signals for the offseason.
Nets fans should regulate D’Angelo Russell for the remainder of this regular season.
He is likely to be the weather vane to disclose what the team plans this offseason.
Russell returned to the court — scoring 12 points and handing out 4 assists in 25 minutes — for Tuesday’s 127-113 loss in San Antonio after missing the prior five games with a sprained ankle.
It marked just the second time since his arrival three months ago that the Nets had their preferred backcourt, Russell and Cam Thomas, playing together.
Watching the pair not known for his or her defense fit right into a team playing hard on that end of the court needs to be interesting.
But not nearly as interesting as what finally ends up happening with Russell.
No one can say with certainty what the Nets’ offseason plans are.
They’re likely not even set, with no idea where they’re drafting or who is on the market in trade.
But watching what happens with Russell can provide some signs on whether or not they’re going big-game (and big-name) hunting, or extending the tank one other 12 months.
After shipping out point guard Dennis Schroder on Dec. 15 — the primary day of the unofficial trading season — Brooklyn GM Sean Marks dealt Dorian Finney-Smith to the Lakers for Russell.
But they didn’t acquire Russell to exchange Schroder’s pick-and-roll prowess, but because Russell has an expiring contract that fit into Finney-Smith’s, and Russell got here with three second-round picks attached.
But Russell — whose 8.7 assists per 100 possessions with the Lakers were his worst since his rookie season — has handed out a dozen per 100 since joining the Nets, one of the best in his profession by an enormous margin.
With the ball in his hands and a leadership role, Russell is believed to have told those around him he desires to stay.
He scored 12 with 4 assists in Tuesday’s loss.
And despite the rebuild, the Nets keeping him around seems loads more likely than it did when he first arrived three months ago.
Yes, the Nets have probably the most cap space within the league at over $60 million.
But what was once a loaded free agent class has seen superstars Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell, Damian Lillard — and even standouts like Brandon Ingram, Lauri Markkanen, Rudy Gobert and Jamal Murray — come off the board with recent extensions.
Yes, Marks — who used to weaponize offer sheets in his first rebuild — could use cap space on restricted free agents like Jonathan Kuminga or Josh Giddey.
However the GM could kick the can down the road a 12 months, extending the tank one other season and punting his cap space into 2026.
If he does, a technique is giving Russell a one-year deal, or a two-year contract with a team option.
With the Nets sitting on a trove of cap space almost as big as the remainder of the league combined — Detroit is the one other team more likely to have greater than the mid-level exception — Russell’s suitors shall be limited.
And if no star who the Nets intend to pursue becomes available this summer via trade — Giannis Antetokounmpo, LaMelo Ball, Trae Young, etc. — then a short-term reunion could make sense for each parties.
Tuesday marked Russell’s first game since Feb. 20.
He got here in averaging 13.8 points and 5.8 assists for the Nets, and since arriving just after Recent Yr’s, they were 8-9 with him, but a horrid 1-10 without him and his playmaking.
That features dropping the previous 4 heading into the Spurs game.
But Brooklyn won the one game Russell and Thomas suited up together, a Jan. 2 victory at Milwaukee being one in all their more impressive results.
Russell handed out his Nets season-high 12 assists in beating the Bucks.
But Thomas suffered a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined until last week, with the pair not sharing the ground until Tuesday night.
How Russell meshes with Thomas — a restricted free agent himself — over the remainder of the season shall be intriguing.
But not as intriguing as what Russell’s fate signals for the offseason.
