Inside: Finding right mix for D’Angelo Russell is key to camp.
By now in his career, D’Angelo Russell understands he can only control what he can control.
Can he and Stephen Curry share the backcourt? Will the Warriors run more pick-and-roll? Is he part of the future, or is he a trade asset? These are things Russell can’t control. With training camp opening this week, his only concern is letting the work provide the answers.
“When you come into a new situation, I think you’ve got to lead by example before anything. You kind of gain guys’ respect and try to gain that credibility. I know that’s something I can control,” Russell said during media day on Monday. “I can go out and be me as much as I can and try to give that guidance whenever it need be. And, going on year five, I feel like the experience has been there, so I can come in with a voice, as well.”
All Russell did last season was put up career highs in points and assists and make his first All-Star Game. However, the Brooklyn Nets recruited Kyrie Irving along with Kevin Durant, and Russell found himself looking for a new team.
At first, it seemed like he might be headed to Minnesota. However, while in New York, Warriors general manager Bob Myers worked out a sign-and-trade deal to net Russell in the wake of Durant’s departure. At first glance, the fit is imperfect, but the talent is exactly what the Warriors need.
Meanwhile, Russell will join his third team in four years. His back-to-back seasons playing for Kenny Atkinson in Brooklyn were the first consecutive years under the same head coach since he was in high school. Steve Kerr will be the latest to try to get the most out of the young point guard.
“I’m really excited about having D’Angelo,” Kerr said. “With all the losses that we had, it was just so important for us to have somebody who can put the ball in the basket.”
Russell is 23 and coming off a season in which he averaged 21.1 points and seven assists. His primary vehicle was the pickand-roll. Russell was second in the league running 920 pick-and-rolls. Comparatively, Stephen Curry ran 353 and, as a team, the Warriors were last in the league in pick-and-rolls. There are questions about whether Russell can adapt to Kerr’s motion-heavy offense.
However, the best coaches find ways to adapt to their personnel. That’s what Kerr did when he was first hired by the Warriors (moving Draymond Green into the starting lineup, playing small, running Curry off the ball, etc.) and when the organization acquired Durant.
One of the reasons Kerr installed an egalitarian system was because he had several players who thrived with the ball in their hands: Curry, Thompson, Green, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, David West and Andrew Bogut, for example, were either elite shooters or passers at their respective positions. That’s no longer the case.
This Warriors roster isn’t as deep with playmakers, and it’s hard to make an argument that Kerr should take the ball out of the hands of Curry, Russell or Green in order to put it in the hands of anyone else.
Kerr said he plans to stagger Curry and Russell, so one of them is always running the offense. While it’s hard to imagine Kerr shelving the motion offense completely, he will run more pick-and-roll.
Staggering Curry and Russell is more about bolstering an inexperienced bench than it is separating the two all-star guards. Still, they will start games together and end games together. When it’s crunch time, they’ll need to know how to play off one another.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations about what it could look like,” Curry said. “This next three weeks will be important for us to create a vibe and continue to build chemistry. I’m excited about some of the stuff we talked about and some of the options we have to kind of work off each other.”
Helping Russell is that he’s a strong 3-point shooter who made nearly 37% on 7.8 attempts last season, and almost 40% on catch-and-shoot opportunities. Russell has long admired Curry’s game. They’ve spent time working out this summer, and Russell looks forward to what he can learn from the twotime MVP.
“Man, I’m so excited,” Russell said, not bothering to hide his exuberance. “I’m trying to act like I’ve been here before, like I’m — like this cool, 10-year vet. But no, this is so cool to me to play with Steph, Klay, Draymond, all those guys, to be able to be around Steve Kerr and his coaching staff, as well. I think it’s just a luxury.”
“I played with them for the first time last week, and I literally called my dad, my brother, and I was just like ‘Yo, this is about to be so fun.’”
The presence of Russell injects talented youth into a veteran core. Curry, Green and Thompson will all be at least 30 by season’s end. Kerr aspires to appropriate the consistency of Gregg Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs, and Russell could be his Kawhi Leonard. Leonard, of course, helped extend the championship window for Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili as the decorated trio neared its twilight.
On the other hand, Russell could become an enticing trade asset down the line. A max player who the Warriors can highlight and then deal in order to fill out the roster around its leading trio. Russell has heard the murmurs of this possibility, but he won’t let himself look that far ahead. For now, it’s about getting better, and soaking in what he can from a championship organization.
During his media day session, Russell recalled when he learned that Brooklyn was moving on from him, and it was clear he’d, again, be making a change. The notion of a sign-and-trade came together rather quickly. When Russell learned the Warriors were interested, he didn’t overthink it.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it. I’m two feet in wherever I go,’” he said. “And then to have an opportunity to sign a max deal, ‘What are we talking about? Let’s do it.’”