{"id":128991,"date":"2025-03-16T15:48:38","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T19:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=128991"},"modified":"2025-03-16T15:48:38","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T19:48:38","slug":"should-nets-re-sign-impending-free-agent-dangelo-russell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/16\/should-nets-re-sign-impending-free-agent-dangelo-russell\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Nets Re-Sign Well-Travelled Impending Free Agent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brooklyn Nets point guard D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/a> is preparing to enter free agency for the first time in his career. Excuse him if he\u2019s a little anxious. Speaking to the New York Post\u2019s Brian Lewis, the 10-year-veteran admits: \u201cI don’t think it’s in my control, to be honest<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve been on the team before where everybody was free agents, too,\u201d he considers. \u201cSo they’ve got the leverage, they’ve got the cards. If they decide to bring me back, cool. If not, we’ll figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russell has \u201chope\u201d to stay in Brooklyn, where he\u2019s played two-plus seasons. The 29-year-old\u2019s already been on four teams and been traded four times. At the end of the day though he just wants \u201cto be in the NBA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Should Nets Re-Sign Impending Free Agent D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/h2>\n

You don\u2019t have to be an expert to realize that Russell is in the midst of arguably his worst season as a pro.<\/p>\n

In 52 games, the former second overall pick has averaged 12.8 points, 5.2 assists, and 1.0 steal per game on .400-.318-.840 shooting splits. His scoring average, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and games started (30) are all career-lows. It\u2019s amazing to think that, at his age, he\u2019s supposed to be in his prime.<\/p>\n

Should the Nets really bring back Russell, given his struggles? Indeed, he\u2019s been even worse in Brooklyn than he was in Los Angeles. His averages \u201413.3 points, 5.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game \u2014have bumped up slightly. Yet, he can\u2019t hit the Atlantic Ocean from the coastline, shooting 38.3 percent from the field and 30.1 percent from 3.<\/p>\n

Numbers aside, there\u2019s a lot to like about Russell. He\u2019s a skilled ball-handler, passer, and even scorer. When he\u2019s locked in defensively, he can make a positive impact.<\/p>\n

The problem is that Russell doesn\u2019t usually bring his A-game. Right now, he\u2019s a C<\/em> student \u2014 as in \u2018we\u2019ll see.\u2019 The Nets are<\/em> better with him on the court than off. Yet, that\u2019s largely due to their lack of options at point guard outside of him.<\/p>\n

They traded Dennis Schroder<\/a>, who had clearly kept his momentum from the Paris Olympics<\/a>. They reached a buyout agreement with Ben Simmons<\/a>, who was playing well enough for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers to want to sign him afterwards<\/a>. Brooklyn even decided not to re-sign Killian Hayes<\/a> despite him playing relatively well in his brief stint.<\/p>\n

Offseason Improvements?<\/h3>\n

In the offseason, the Nets will be able to significantly improve their talent level at point guard.<\/p>\n

Among their potential free agent options, Houston Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet<\/a> has proven his worth, especially intangibly. Washington Wizards point guard Malcolm Brogdon<\/a> is a valuable two-way player when healthy. Younger veterans like Tre Jones<\/a> (Chicago Bulls) and Tyus Jones<\/a> (Phoenix Suns) are true floor generals.<\/p>\n

Before free agency even begins, the 2025 NBA Draft gives them a chance to upgrade. Per Tankathon, Brooklyn currently holds four first rounders \u2014 the No. 5, No. 21, No. 26, and No. 27 pick. In the NBA Draft Lottery, they\u2019ll have a 42.1 percent chance of landing a top-four pick and a 10.5 percent chance of winning the No. 1 pick.<\/p>\n

With one of those selections, they could wind up with Rutgers freshman Dylan Harper<\/a>, expected to be the first guard to come off the board. Of note, the Nets have already scouted him in-person<\/a>. If drafted by Brooklyn, Russell could act as a mentor to Harper. Nonetheless, it definitely puts Russell\u2019s future in a more precarious position.<\/p>\n

If the Nets felt obliged or had to draft a different player with their top pick, that\u2019s a different story though.<\/p>\n

Illinois freshman Kasparas Jakucionis<\/a>, BYU freshman Egor Demin<\/a>, Oklahoma freshman Jeremiah Fears<\/a>, Michigan State freshman Jase Richardson<\/a>, and Saint-Quentin\u2019s Nolan Traore are all discussed as lottery-caliber point guards. Baylor freshman VJ Edgecombe<\/a> is more of a combo guard but he\u2019s also a highly-touted prospect.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for them, their offensive game isn\u2019t quite as advanced as Harper\u2019s. As a result, they could have a longer pathway to a starting spot.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the trade market.<\/p>\n

Looking around the league, Utah Jazz combo guard Collin Sexton<\/a> seems to fit Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez\u2019s philosophy and fiery personality. However, they could look to acquire a player like Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young<\/a> or Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball<\/a> as well. Neither Young nor Ball strike fear into their opponents with their defense, but they can be a one-man army on offense.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 John Jones-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brooklyn Nets point guard D\u2019Angelo Russell is preparing to enter free agency for the first time in his career. Excuse him if he\u2019s a little anxious. Speaking to the New York Post\u2019s Brian Lewis, the 10-year-veteran admits: \u201cI don’t think it’s in my control, to be honest.\u201d \u201cI’ve been on the team before where everybody […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":128999,"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":[6,1608,62,556,3],"tags":[307,98,297,4557,1382],"class_list":["post-128991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nets","category-basketball","category-nba","category-nba-draft","category-news","tag-dangelo-russell","tag-nba-draft","tag-nba-free-agency","tag-nba-offseason","tag-nba-trade"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128991","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\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128991"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129000,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128991\/revisions\/129000"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}