How would DeAngelo Russell pair with Cade in the backcourt?

bstein14 · Post #1 » by **bstein14** » Tue May 3, 2022 1:25 am

Wolves are reportedly going to look to trade away Russell this summer, who was benched down the stretch of the final game of their season in favor of Beverly and Anthony Edwards.

He's got one big year left on his contract before being a FA. I'd have to assume he'll be in line for a smaller contract than Brunson will get this season, and a smaller one than Grant reportedly wants (4 years $112 million)

Just curious what everyone thinks about his potential fit alongside Cade as a starter in the backcourt. They had been starting 6'4" Edwards at SF so that Russell could also start but it seems like that experiment might be over.

Would a Grant/Olynyk trade for Russell and #19 be enough to make the move assuming we're getting a starting PF with our draft pick? Hope that someone decent falls to the #19 range or try to move up a bit from that spot.

DBC10 · Post #2 » by **DBC10** » Tue May 3, 2022 1:37 am

He's been bad and honestly hasn't improved ever since he made that all-star reserve team for Brooklyn. That might've been the peak of his powers and even with that, he still doesn't play much defense which if at all

I'd pass simply because he's not an impactful guard. Just watching that series against Memphis, he looked awful, seriously

ElectricMayhem · Post #3 » by **ElectricMayhem** » Tue May 3, 2022 1:42 am

Not only Beverly and Edwards. Jordan McLaughlin was getting more important minutes than DLo.

bstein14 · Post #4 » by **bstein14** » Tue May 3, 2022 1:43 am

DBC10 wrote:He's been bad and honestly hasn't improved ever since he made that all-star reserve team for Brooklyn. That might've been the peak of his powers and even with that, he still doesn't play much defense which if at all

I'd pass simply because he's not an impactful guard. Just watching that series against Memphis, he looked awful, seriously

It certainly says a lot that they are seemingly choosing to go with Beverly over him. That said, Weaver did say his #1 priority this offseason is to add scoring to the lineup so some interest would certainly be possible. I agree that I don't like this move straight up, but if on our end we could do something like Grant + Olynyk for Russell + #19 it might be something I pull the trigger on depending on what our other offers are on the table for Grant at the draft... and of course whether or not we've got a top 3 pick that looks like a PF is coming to Detroit from the draft.

vege · Post #5 » by **vege** » Tue May 3, 2022 2:42 am

He is inneficient on offense, want the ball on his hand and is a complete disaster on defense. So how would he pair with Cade? Bad.

Manocad · Post #6 » by **Manocad** » Tue May 3, 2022 3:26 am

bstein14 · Post #7 » by **bstein14** » Tue May 3, 2022 3:29 am

vege wrote:He is inneficient on offense, want the ball on his hand and is a complete disaster on defense. So how would he pair with Cade? Bad.

Grant and Russell have been equally right at league average in TS% the past two seasons.

I see Grant as having more value in leadership and defense, but fit/age become the questions more so moving forward if we land a PF in the lottery.... which we'll know in about 2 weeks where we will fall in the draft.

tmorgan · Post #8 » by **tmorgan** » Tue May 3, 2022 4:55 am

DLo freaking sucks, man. Being “Grant’s equal on offense” is a harsh indictment, because one plays good defense and the other plays no defense.

Cade’s backcourt partner needs to:
1) Make open threes
2) Play good defense
and hopefully
3) Act as a competent playmaker if he’s in without Cade. Or maybe with Cade, but infrequently.

DLo fails hard on #2. Brunson checks all the boxes, but the price may be too high for a small (but stout) guard. Still not sure who we’ll go after, if anyone, this off-season.

Post #9 » by **Snakebites** » Tue May 3, 2022 4:59 am

It’s not even a situation where I think it’s too risky or not worth the money or whatever, which is the discussion around Ayton and Brunson.

I just don’t like Russell. At all.

Pharaoh · Post #10 » by **Pharaoh** » Tue May 3, 2022 9:24 am

Snakebites wrote:It’s not even a situation where I think it’s too risky or not worth the money or whatever, which is the discussion around Ayton and Brunson.

I just don’t like Russell. At all.

Ditto

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ducler · Post #11 » by **ducler** » Tue May 3, 2022 10:29 am

I think we may all prefer continue pairing Cade with Killian rather than trade for Russell, and Hayes was considered as one of the worst starters last year, that tells a lot about Russell:

Offense: Russell is far ahead but needs the ball in his hands which is incompatible with Cade, Killian has upside playing off the ball.
Defense: Hayes is far ahead technically and has more heart than Russell.
Salary: 31,3M vs. 5,8M, easy to choose.
Age: Russell is 26 and close to his prime, Hayes is still 20 with upside.
Drama: Kardashians, KAT, etc. I prefer a good soldier in Killian.

With that say, we may also all prefer Sharpe to be paired with Cade, with Hayes off the bench, depending on our Draft position.

440BB · Post #12 » by **440BB** » Tue May 3, 2022 10:42 am

Russell would be a killer of team culture, a poor man's Kyrie Irving. Hard pass.

Uncle Mxy · Post #13 » by **Uncle Mxy** » Tue May 3, 2022 11:31 am

We can just hide him during the playoffs so he won't be exposed.