{"id":115222,"date":"2024-12-31T11:40:47","date_gmt":"2024-12-31T16:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=115222"},"modified":"2024-12-31T11:40:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T16:40:47","slug":"russell-returns-to-nets-following-feud-with-sean-marks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/31\/russell-returns-to-nets-following-feud-with-sean-marks\/","title":{"rendered":"D\u2019Angelo Russell\u2019s Feud With Nets GM Sean Marks"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Sunday, the Nets traded Dorian Finney-Smith<\/a> and Shake Milton<\/a> to the Los Angeles Lakers for D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/a>, Maxwell Lewis<\/a>, and three second-round picks (2027, 2030, and 2031). Russell returns to the Nets where he played for two seasons (2017-18 & 2018-19), before being dealt to the Warriors in the Kevin Durant<\/a> trade.<\/p>\n

D\u2019Angelo Russell\u2019s Feud With Nets GM Sean Marks<\/h2>\n

This latest trade comes two weeks after the Nets traded Dennis Schroder<\/a> to the Golden State Warriors. Finney-Smith had been with the Nets since February of 2023. He was part of the trade that sent Kyrie Irving<\/a> to the Dallas Mavericks. Finney-Smith\u2019s defense and three-point shooting were key contributions to the team during crucial moments.<\/p>\n

Nets General Manager, Sean Marks<\/a>, has not publicly spoken about the team\u2019s rebuild. However, the Schroder and Finney-Smith trades are clear indications that the team is in a rebuild and wants to clear salary. ESPN\u2019s Brian Windhorst noted that<\/a> the Nets could go into the summer of 2025 with cap space of around $70 million.<\/p>\n

Russell\u2019s Feud with Sean Marks<\/h3>\n

D\u2019Angelo Russell returns to the Nets for his second stint with the team. During his previous time with the team from 2017-2019, he rose to All-Star status and became a fan favorite. In the 2019 offseason, the Nets extended a qualifying offer, making him a free agent. The Warriors traded Russell, along with Shabazz Napier<\/a> and Treveon Graham<\/a> on July 7, 2019, as part of a sign-and-trade deal for Kevin Durant<\/a>. Since that trade, Russell has played on three different teams, and now he returns to the Nets.<\/p>\n

Basketball Is A Business<\/h3>\n

Russell\u2019s return to the Nets revisits any ill feelings he may have for the team, specifically, GM Sean Marks, after he was traded in 2019. In December of 2021, while playing for the \u00a0Timberwolves, Brian Lewis of the New York Post asked<\/a> Russell if there was any emotion playing his former team (the Nets). He replied,<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe if Sean Marks was in a jersey, then there\u2019d be something different. But he\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Marks and Russell played pivotal roles during the Nets\u2019 rebuilding phase. For fans, it was a period of uncertainty. However, the 2018-19 team revitalized the fanbase by finishing the regular season with a 42-40 record, securing the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, and making the playoffs for the first time since the 2014-15 season. To Russell, who averaged 21.1 points per game, this team was his to lead to glory.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Marks viewed the 2018-19 season as an opportunity to attract free agents and build a super team in Brooklyn. He went after the best players in the 2019 free agency class. After Russell\u2019s departure, the Nets indeed became one of the most formidable teams in the NBA. However, that period did not last long.<\/p>\n

Russell Returns To Nets<\/h3>\n

Russell, 28 years old, was in the final season of a two-year contract with the Lakers (picked up his player option for this season). He struggled and has been coming off the bench, averaging 12.4 points and 4.7 assists. The trade to the Nets will allow him the opportunity to rebuild his reputation<\/a>. He will likely play increased minutes, bring experience, and will be a help in the front court. Also, fans remember his previous contributions and welcome him back.<\/p>\n

Dan Woike of the New York Times reported<\/a> that Russell is excited about his return to the Nets.<\/p>\n

“A person close to Russell told The Times on condition of anonymity that he\u2019s excited about the return to Brooklyn and the chance to establish his value heading into free agency next offseason.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What\u2019s Next?<\/h3>\n

Russell returns to the Nets, who are currently in the 12th seed in the Eastern Conference with a 12-20 record. There continue to be rumors<\/a> about Cam Johnson<\/a> being traded and questions about the future of Ben Simmons<\/a>. Although Marks is not speaking about the team\u2019s plans, he is clearly strategizing. He knows what Russell can contribute on the court. It will be interesting if the Nets include Russell in their plans. For now, it seems Russell\u2019s feelings about Marks and being previously traded, might just be a thing of the past. It is time to move forward.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Sunday, the Nets traded Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to the Los Angeles Lakers for D\u2019Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three second-round picks (2027, 2030, and 2031). Russell returns to the Nets where he played for two seasons (2017-18 & 2018-19), before being dealt to the Warriors in the Kevin Durant trade. D\u2019Angelo Russell\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5340,"featured_media":115240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,6,62],"tags":[266,1781,307,2272,69,406,4829],"class_list":["post-115222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nets","category-nba","tag-ben-simmons","tag-cam-johnson","tag-dangelo-russell","tag-dorian-finney-smith","tag-kevin-durant","tag-kyrie-irving","tag-maxwell-lewis"],"modified_by":"Kenny Kluska","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5340"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115222"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":115241,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115222\/revisions\/115241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}