NO SETTLEMENT
Russell, the NBA’s All-Star journeyman, hopes to stay with Golden State
SAN FRANCISCO >> After D’Angelo Russell signed a $117 million contract last summer, he decided to stop putting it off: He would finally buy his first couch.
He might be comfortable buying furniture, but not yet enough to invest in property. Even though his deal with the Warriors runs through 2023, he rented a mansion in San Francisco’s Diamond Heights neighborhood, where he lives as a minimalist by NBA standards.
Moving for the third time in four years has taken a toll on someone who yearns for stability. Though he has heard the relentless speculation that Golden State would be better off trading him, the league’s only journeyman All-Star hopes he’s found a long-term home.
Since high school, Russell, 23, hasn’t been in one place for more than two years. His three years at Montverde Academy were followed by a single year at Ohio State. He was drafted by the Lakers in 2015, traded to Brooklyn in 2017, and then was sent to the Warriors in July.
Russell’s Twitter biography reads: “Loading…” because time after time he’s been required to restart.
In his short time with the Warriors, Russell has found an environment that encourages his strengths. He is continuing to put up prolific stats, but has also become a mentor to several young players while trying to expand his game to complement Golden State’s championship core.
“I would love for this to be home,” Russell said from his chair in the Warriors’ San Francisco practice facility. “I have a four-year contract. I would love to be here even three years. That would set my record.”
A room in Diamond Heights is dedicated to Russell’s hero, Muhammad Ali — as if the tattoo outside his right calf of the legendary boxer wasn’t enough.
“From Louisville, man. Muhammad Ali, dawg,” Russell said. “We don’t make it out, so we got to go through the fire to get a little daylight.”
D’Angelo and his older brother, Antonio Jr., grew up with their mother and father in Louisville’s rough West End, a neighborhood filled with corners promising casual violence and gangs capable of ensnaring the most innocent. Getting a job at the local Ford factory is considered making it.
“It’s a city filled with settling,” Antonio Jr. said.
When D’Angelo was 12, his father, Antonio, moved the family to Valley Station, a suburb in Jefferson County. Russell left Central High after his freshman year to attend Montverde Academy in Florida, which is where he last felt settled.
He blossomed into a fivestar recruit and committed to Ohio State. When he signed his letter of intent, he planned to stay more than one year. And who knows? Maybe even get inducted into the Buckeyes’ Hall of Fame.
But the NBA beckoned after he averaged 19.3 points and five assists per game, earning consensus first-team All-America honors and leading the Buckeyes to an NCAA Tournament berth. Russell loved college, but he began to surface as a lottery pick on draft boards.
“If you look at his year at Ohio State, it’s one of the best ever,” said Jeff Boals, his assistant coach with the Buckeyes. “When he goes back, he’s as remembered as anybody.”
Russell asked his older brother to come with him to wherever he was drafted. Nearly five years later, he hasn’t lived apart from him during his career, from Los Angeles to Brooklyn to San Francisco.
Through his travels he’s bought three dogs, the newest of which is Nino Brown, a 1-year-old Boston Terrier named after Wesley Snipes’ drug-dealing character in “New Jack City” that is small enough to travel.
Russell’s inner circle also
includes his closest friends. Suns guard Devin Booker, who he met as a high school freshman at the Nike Elite 100 camp, talks to Russell nearly every day. They’ve both signed maximum NBA contracts, but their hangouts are still reminiscent of when they’d sneak out of the hotel after curfew to buy snacks at a nearby gas station and daydream about their NBA futures.
“We always talk about how our paths have been different,” said Booker, who has been with the same team his entire career. “If you have a conversation with him now, he’s in a whole different headspace than he was four years ago.”
Intensely loyal to those close to him, Russell can sometimes seem aloof to outsiders. That’s because of a pivotal moment in Russell’s rookie season when a video was leaked from his cellphone of teammate Nick Young, at the time engaged to rapper Iggy Azalea, discussing other women he’d been with.
Though who leaked the video is still a mystery, the fact that it came from Russell’s phone triggered a media firestorm that portrayed him as immature. In the 2017 news conference announcing a trade that sent Russell to the Nets, Lakers president Magic Johnson said, “What I needed was a leader.”
“I think that move is the one that affected him the most,” Boals said. “Just because they leave you out to dry, and they get rid of you.”
Said Russell: “I feel like I’m more aware of what I
say. More aware of my perception.”
These days, Russell strides into arenas cozily fitted with his favorite designer coat and one of the three new watches he bought last summer. His clear, thick-rimmed glasses belie his deliberate style of play.
He can sometimes seem isolated on the hardwood, getting the occasional assist from the parade of screening big men who have come in and out of his work life. Ball in hand, coming off a screen, he prods meticulously as he gauges the next course of action. He contorts his body, using his hip to angle off his defender before choosing a spot from which to shoot.
His style, along with his polarizing persona, are his baggage — what he brings with him to every new city and what has given him the reputation of a high-usage, low-efficiency teammate.
The Lakers jettisoned Russell in favor of Lonzo Ball, who left UCLA a passfirst point guard widely compared to Magic. Even after Russell led the Nets to the playoffs, some wondered if he could thrive next to a second all-star.
“Man, I can’t imagine if I was in a consistent system to where I know the coaches and they know me, they know my family,” Russell said sarcastically. “Camaraderie is beneficial for both. I can’t imagine that.”
Last summer, Russell knew he’d be on the move again. It was June 30 on a warmer-than-usual day in Los Angeles when he watched from his agent’s plush Beverly Hills office as
name after name flittered across the ticker scroll at the bottom of a TV.
“Then KD finally made his decision,” Russell said.
Kevin Durant signed with Brooklyn and set in motion a complex signand-trade that landed Russell in San Francisco.
Russell had been close to signing with the Timberwolves, but when his agent told him the Warriors were an option, his decision was easy. After chaotic stints with the Lakers and Nets, he was excited to join a championship organization and learn from several future Hall of Famers.
Though many wondered if they had acquired Russell only to flip him in a trade, the Warriors knew this was their only way to add a player of his caliber. They had given up two first-round picks, Andre Iguodala and the ability to sign a few key free agents, so they figured they might as well see if Russell could be a long-term fit.
When Curry broke his left hand in the fourth game of the season, the experiment was shelved, and Russell’s stay in San Francisco was possibly extended. After all, shot-makers like Russell are hard to come by, and the Warriors want a larger sample size before deciding whether he and Curry can co-exist.
In Curry’s absence, Russell is again putting up allstar-type numbers. But until he produces alongside a healthy Curry and Klay Thompson, the speculation about his future will persist. Russell isn’t comfortable talking about the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
“Money doesn’t buy peace of mind, it doesn’t buy a sense of belonging, a sense of ‘This is my team,’” coach Steve Kerr said. “If there’s speculation that you’re going to be traded all the time, I don’t care how much money you make, I don’t care who you are, that’s tough.”
Russell could be traded this summer, when the Warriors have an opportunity to select a younger guard at the top of the draft. Even if he sticks until next season, they could package him in a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo or another franchise difference-maker.
But if Russell could have it his way, he’d stay long enough to take car rides with Nino Brown without needing Google Maps. He’d finally unpack the last few boxes in Diamond Heights and settle down in San Francisco.
“I was already built to be chewed up and spit out,” Russell said. “So, I’m chilling with my feet up.
“This is home for me right now.”