The D'Angelo Russell Thread

[old school 34]

I'm definitely in the minority here, but I think we should keep him. I wouldn't offer the max, knowing that no other team will either. Instead, I'd start at $12-15/year contract and see where negotiations go.

It may be hard to see, in the dying light of the embers of the playoff crash, but D'Lo was an important piece of the team this last year. He did not do well in the playoffs, but that's likely inexperience - we know that he's capable of performing well in high-pressure situations (how soon we forget the play-in game....) There's a ton of games we would not have won had he not bailed us out with his shooting. And his passing skills are often overlooked in favor of his scoring. Plus, it's easy to say, trade him for something better, but we're not getting a current all-star (Murray) for him.

If he would accept a super-sub/part-time starter role like he did in Brooklyn, I think that would be ideal. I'm not saying, keep him at all costs - I'm saying, what is the cost? If he wants $20 million or more, I balk at that and let him test the market.

I would definitely like to keep DLo at $15M-$18M range but I think there is close to zero chance of him accepting something in that range. If not max, he will probably expecting something in the range of $25M+ per year

Yeah, to clarify....I tend to be in the trade DLo camp...because I have very little belief that DLo would accept the role &/or pay cut that you suggest? If I'm wrong there & you can get him say $22 per (probably my max)....then, let's talk...but I feel he believes he's more than that & maybe just more of a guy that doesn't fit the exact system that coach &/or rest of the team works better in?

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[old school 34]

Two important things to note:

1. He was not traded for by the current POBO. This one is widely known, remembered and understood.
2. He was not traded for to play in this current system. This is something that isn't discussed as often but the Finch offense really doesn't revolve around ball-dominant, offensive-minded PGs. I think it's part of why the offense hums along when McLaughlin is out there. You can even say Russell was more SG than PG, which could explain the struggles in the first half of the season when Beverley was sidelined.

DLo thrives in spread PnR / motion offense (BRO example), but what type of PG / system wants Finch? Similar to NOP with Cousins and AD? Or DEN? Maybe DLo can be integrated organically?

Along those lines....& some other bread crumbs, right:

1. Rosas out & Sachin in....first off, Finch has significantly more say seems like in personal

2. DLo much more available after POBO change in Simmons trade rumors

3. Lots of Marcus Smart love at trade deadline

4. May be very coincidental, but teams where Finch has coached in past....ball moving pg's that have strong defense component to their games

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[WolfAddict]

**** it... Ship him off and I'll come and play PG for a pie and a coke per game...

[minimus]

Two important things to note:

1. He was not traded for by the current POBO. This one is widely known, remembered and understood.
2. He was not traded for to play in this current system. This is something that isn't discussed as often but the Finch offense really doesn't revolve around ball-dominant, offensive-minded PGs. I think it's part of why the offense hums along when McLaughlin is out there. You can even say Russell was more SG than PG, which could explain the struggles in the first half of the season when Beverley was sidelined.

DLo thrives in spread PnR / motion offense (BRO example), but what type of PG / system wants Finch? Similar to NOP with Cousins and AD? Or DEN? Maybe DLo can be integrated organically?

Along those lines....& some other bread crumbs, right:

1. Rosas out & Sachin in....first off, Finch has significantly more say seems like in personal
2. DLo much more available after POBO change in Simmons trade rumors
3. Lots of Marcus Smart love at trade deadline
4. May be very coincidental, but teams where Finch has coached in past....ball moving pg's that have strong defense component to their games

I wish we traded for Derrick White. He seems exactly this type of combo guard we need: tough, smart

[shangrila]

Watch on YouTube

Interesting video I found that I thought was worth sharing. Two main things I wanted to shout out;

1. I had no idea his C&S numbers were so much lower this season. 4-5% points worse is both significant and uncharacteristic, so it's worth gambling that he can return to form.

2. One of his main arguments hinges on 2 man lineups data from NBA.com but there's no way to actually exclude players. From the way he talks, I don't think he understands that part.

Overall though it's a good watch.

[Neeva]

I think he’s history if we get Connelly.

[shangrila]

I doubt it.

I imagine he’s viewed more highly in the NBA than among fans, but even if he weren’t his expiring contract and the cap space it might lead to are significant enough for us to keep him for this season at least.

[cupcakesnake]

Watch on YouTube

Interesting video I found that I thought was worth sharing. Two main things I wanted to shout out;

1. I had no idea his C&S numbers were so much lower this season. 4-5% points worse is both significant and uncharacteristic, so it's worth gambling that he can return to form.

2. One of his main arguments hinges on 2 man lineups data from NBA.com but there's no way to actually exclude players. From the way he talks, I don't think he understands that part.

Overall though it's a good watch.

Came here to check if someone had posted this video. Anpherknee has been emphatically pro-D'Lo all season. He won me over early, and despite D'Lo wretched year shooting the ball, I think D'Lo is a pretty ideal offensive guard and a pretty important part of this team. His ability to toggle on and off the ball, be a playmaker or a shot maker, and hit tough 3s is just pretty rare. Towns is erratic as all heck and Ant is young and dumb. D'Lo was a steadying force and a connective tissue on offense all season. Had he shot the ball at his normal level, it would have been a huge season for him.

I know Wolves fans are crucifying him for his disappearing act in the playoffs, but I see no reason to sell low on him. I believe in the The D'Lo/Ant/Towns offense when you pair that with your 2 best defenders (2 of the Beverly, Vando, MCD trio and hopefully we upgrade that group this offseason).

This was his video from before the season:

Watch on YouTube

[shangrila]

Watch on YouTube

Interesting video I found that I thought was worth sharing. Two main things I wanted to shout out;

1. I had no idea his C&S numbers were so much lower this season. 4-5% points worse is both significant and uncharacteristic, so it's worth gambling that he can return to form.

2. One of his main arguments hinges on 2 man lineups data from NBA.com but there's no way to actually exclude players. From the way he talks, I don't think he understands that part.

Overall though it's a good watch.

Came here to check if someone had posted this video. Anpherknee has been emphatically pro-D'Lo all season. He won me over early, and despite D'Lo wretched year shooting the ball, I think D'Lo is a pretty ideal offensive guard and a pretty important part of this team. His ability to toggle on and off the ball, be a playmaker or a shot maker, and hit tough 3s is just pretty rare. Towns is erratic as all heck and Ant is young and dumb. D'Lo was a steadying force and a connective tissue on offense all season. Had he shot the ball at his normal level, it would have been a huge season for him.

I know Wolves fans are crucifying him for his disappearing act in the playoffs, but I see no reason to sell low on him. I believe in the The D'Lo/Ant/Towns offense when you pair that with your 2 best defenders (2 of the Beverly, Vando, MCD trio and hopefully we upgrade that group this offseason).

This was his video from before the season:

Watch on YouTube

I get that, and I do think the hate towards him as been a bit much, but I do think there were issues that carried through all season that just happened to rear their ugly head in the playoffs. The dumb hero ball shots, the lack of defensive effort, the just lack of effort overall. That play towards the end of the series where two Grizzlies dived for the ball while DLo was standing there watching them from like a foot away was emblematic of who he is.

So I'll say this; I hope they don't dump him just to dump him but they need to seriously pursue an upgrade. He's good, but not good enough.

Also, name change. WTF?

[cupcakesnake]

Watch on YouTube

Interesting video I found that I thought was worth sharing. Two main things I wanted to shout out;

1. I had no idea his C&S numbers were so much lower this season. 4-5% points worse is both significant and uncharacteristic, so it's worth gambling that he can return to form.

2. One of his main arguments hinges on 2 man lineups data from NBA.com but there's no way to actually exclude players. From the way he talks, I don't think he understands that part.

Overall though it's a good watch.

Came here to check if someone had posted this video. Anpherknee has been emphatically pro-D'Lo all season. He won me over early, and despite D'Lo wretched year shooting the ball, I think D'Lo is a pretty ideal offensive guard and a pretty important part of this team. His ability to toggle on and off the ball, be a playmaker or a shot maker, and hit tough 3s is just pretty rare. Towns is erratic as all heck and Ant is young and dumb. D'Lo was a steadying force and a connective tissue on offense all season. Had he shot the ball at his normal level, it would have been a huge season for him.

I know Wolves fans are crucifying him for his disappearing act in the playoffs, but I see no reason to sell low on him. I believe in the The D'Lo/Ant/Towns offense when you pair that with your 2 best defenders (2 of the Beverly, Vando, MCD trio and hopefully we upgrade that group this offseason).

This was his video from before the season:

Watch on YouTube

I get that, and I do think the hate towards him as been a bit much, but I do think there were issues that carried through all season that just happened to rear their ugly head in the playoffs. The dumb hero ball shots, the lack of defensive effort, the just lack of effort overall. That play towards the end of the series where two Grizzlies dived for the ball while DLo was standing there watching them from like a foot away was emblematic of who he is.

So I'll say this; I hope they don't dump him just to dump him but they need to seriously pursue an upgrade. He's good, but not good enough.

Also, name change. WTF?

Yeah there were some boneheaded plays and strange listlessness from D'Lo in spots during the season. Then the playoff hit and that seemed to be all there was.

But a couple of things:
- D'Lo was our best player in the play-in game and how we survived Towns complete flame out and the terrifying Clippers matchup. I know Ant was the exciting watch in the game with the dunks and 3-point pull ups but underneath the hood D'Lo was there getting us in our sets, scoring 29, shooting 60% from 3, dropping 6 assists to 1 turnover, and hitting 2 huge shots and grabbing an offensive board in crunch time.
- I'm with Anpherknee on not minding the "hero ball" in the playoffs. He was completely off his game, but all season he'd been our best shot maker and decision maker in the clutch.

I see D'Lo as pretty crucial to our team until we can acquire another passer that can fill that role. Towns is erratic as a passer, and Ant is going to take some time to develop in that way, if he ever gets there. I don't think we need D'Lo to average 20ppg. I think we need him to be our point guard and offensive organizer. Ricky Rubio ain't walking in that door for a third time.

And yes I'm cupcakesnake now hehe. I've been jamaalstar since Jamaal Magloire made the 2004 all-star team. It is time I caught up with contemporary NBA culture

[younggunsmn]

D-Lo is not a winning player. He is a net negative out there unless he is having a hot shooting night, which only seems to be once every 4 or 5 games. We need to move on. The memphis series sealed it for me.

2 vivid moments in particular:
1. not even jumping for a defensive rebound headed right at him.
2. Refusing to space to the corner for a crunch time Ant ISO and instead standing above the arc calling for the ball.
And that's not getting into any of the very ugly crunch time offense when he did have the ball.

If we extend him, even for half of what he is making now, it will put a hard cap on this teams ceiling for the next 5 years.
Trade him and give Ant more touches, especially in crunch time. There are better options out there right now who arent absolutely killing you if their shot is off that day, and many more will emerge over the next few years. Spencer fricking Dinwiddie of Tyus Jones would've been an upgrade.

[shangrila]

Came here to check if someone had posted this video. Anpherknee has been emphatically pro-D'Lo all season. He won me over early, and despite D'Lo wretched year shooting the ball, I think D'Lo is a pretty ideal offensive guard and a pretty important part of this team. His ability to toggle on and off the ball, be a playmaker or a shot maker, and hit tough 3s is just pretty rare. Towns is erratic as all heck and Ant is young and dumb. D'Lo was a steadying force and a connective tissue on offense all season. Had he shot the ball at his normal level, it would have been a huge season for him.

I know Wolves fans are crucifying him for his disappearing act in the playoffs, but I see no reason to sell low on him. I believe in the The D'Lo/Ant/Towns offense when you pair that with your 2 best defenders (2 of the Beverly, Vando, MCD trio and hopefully we upgrade that group this offseason).

This was his video from before the season:

Watch on YouTube

I get that, and I do think the hate towards him as been a bit much, but I do think there were issues that carried through all season that just happened to rear their ugly head in the playoffs. The dumb hero ball shots, the lack of defensive effort, the just lack of effort overall. That play towards the end of the series where two Grizzlies dived for the ball while DLo was standing there watching them from like a foot away was emblematic of who he is.

So I'll say this; I hope they don't dump him just to dump him but they need to seriously pursue an upgrade. He's good, but not good enough.

Also, name change. WTF?

Yeah there were some boneheaded plays and strange listlessness from D'Lo in spots during the season. Then the playoff hit and that seemed to be all there was.

But a couple of things:
- D'Lo was our best player in the play-in game and how we survived Towns complete flame out and the terrifying Clippers matchup. I know Ant was the exciting watch in the game with the dunks and 3-point pull ups but underneath the hood D'Lo was there getting us in our sets, scoring 29, shooting 60% from 3, dropping 6 assists to 1 turnover, and hitting 2 huge shots and grabbing an offensive board in crunch time.
- I'm with Anpherknee on not minding the "hero ball" in the playoffs. He was completely off his game, but all season he'd been our best shot maker and decision maker in the clutch.

I see D'Lo as pretty crucial to our team until we can acquire another passer that can fill that role. Towns is erratic as a passer, and Ant is going to take some time to develop in that way, if he ever gets there. I don't think we need D'Lo to average 20ppg. I think we need him to be our point guard and offensive organizer. Ricky Rubio ain't walking in that door for a third time.

Oh yeah, we definitely need a PG if he goes. As much as I love what Bev brings, the guy is not someone who can run an offence consistently.

The only other counterpoint I'd make is that the Clippers game was more or less expected; all season long he'd have one good/great game followed by 4/5 forgettable ones. That carried through into the playoffs, and that's the problem I have with him. If he can't bring things consistently then he's unreliable. I'd rather have someone do 75%, or even 50%, of what he does so long as they bring that every single night.

And yes I'm cupcakesnake now hehe. I've been jamaalstar since Jamaal Magloire made the 2004 all-star team. It is time I caught up with contemporary NBA culture

Well, you're certainly getting closer to contemporary stuff

[shrink]

https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-dangelo-russell

[Dalvin]

Would Orlando trade Jalen Suggs for D'Lo?

[shangrila]

https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-dangelo-russell

TLDR

Knicks for Noel, Rose and Burks. Maybe the Dallas pick as well.
Clips for Jackson and Kennard.
Mavs for Hardaway and Powell. Maybe a pick.
Magic for maybe Cole Anthony? Not sure what he was going for there.

Not exactly world beating offers, so may as well keep him. Though on that note we need to turn Naz into a proper roll man. It's something we haven't had during his tenure and was something he's really needed.

[Krapinsky]

I don’t see a Russell trade happening. I think he’s still worth more to us than other teams due to (1) his friendship with Towns, (2) the asset we used to trade for him, and (3) the glaring hole we would have without him.

I think he stays another year and then I bet he doesn’t find any FA suitors, so re-signs with Wolves on a reasonable deal.

[wolves_89]

One additional factor when considering a DLO trade is that next season will be a true contract year for him. I would fully expect him to put in the work to come into camp in great shape and well prepared for a big year. The last time he had a contract year, he had the best season of his career and was an all-star. I'll take a season of contract year DLO (plus having $31M of cap space in 2023) over most of the trades that are out there.

[karch34]

He was eligible for an extension this year. He played well regular season so don’t want to condemn him for a bad post season stretch. Issue is he’s not a max playe. Same time I don’t want to give him away for pennies on the dollar and take on bad contracts. If we do keep him it will be interesting to see if he isn’t affected by the uncertainty.

[jscott]

One additional factor when considering a DLO trade is that next season will be a true contract year for him. I would fully expect him to put in the work to come into camp in great shape and well prepared for a big year. The last time he had a contract year, he had the best season of his career and was an all-star. I'll take a season of contract year DLO (plus having $31M of cap space in 2023) over most of the trades that are out there.

I mean… his all-star appearance means as much to me as Wiggins’ does. Neither of them deserved it and got in under dubious circumstances.

I’d probably still bring him back (unless there is an obvious improvement available) and roll the dice in FA next year.

[wolves_89]

One additional factor when considering a DLO trade is that next season will be a true contract year for him. I would fully expect him to put in the work to come into camp in great shape and well prepared for a big year. The last time he had a contract year, he had the best season of his career and was an all-star. I'll take a season of contract year DLO (plus having $31M of cap space in 2023) over most of the trades that are out there.

I mean… his all-star appearance means as much to me as Wiggins’ does. Neither of them deserved it and got in under dubious circumstances.

I’d probably still bring him back (unless there is an obvious improvement available) and roll the dice in FA next year.

Focusing on the merits of his all-star appearance misses the point. In his career, DLO has had some pretty massive swings in production based on his contract status. He very much seems like a guy who puts in more work when there is money on the line and coasts in the other years. My point is that I fully expect a career year out of DLO next season and think keeping him will be a better option than the trades that will be available. The danger of that approach is being lured into giving him big money next off-season rather than pursuing better free agents with the cap space.