The Nets tend to play a lot of close games. You'd think they'd want D'Angelo Russell, their 22-year old point guard who has claimed he has "ice in his veins," to play a decisive role in those contests.
It hasn't worked out that way so far this season.
According to NBA.com, six of the Nets' first nine games were within a five-point margin with less than five minutes remaining. Russell has only played 11 of those minutes in which Brooklyn has gone 2-4.
In Game 10, the Nets moved to 4-6 overall with a 122-97 victory over visiting Philadelphia on Sunday. With the Nets comfortably ahead, Russell played 4:30 in Sunday's fourth frame during an efficient (for him) 21-point outing. It somewhat diffused the smoke from the previous game, when Russell did not get off the bench at all during the fourth quarter in Friday's 119-111 Nets loss to Houston.
Five Nets have garnered more clutch court time than Russell this season, including fellow guards Caris LeVert (27 minutes) and Spencer Dinwiddie (25).
Unlike last season, when Russell missed 34 games (and was on a minutes' restriction in perhaps a dozen others) due to a knee injury, he is healthy. No, this seems like a matter of trust, or rather distrust.
Coach Kenny Atkinson's actions speak louder than his words. He can talk about "liking" other lineups, but it's clear that there are aspects of Russell's game that makes Atkinson hesitant to use him in crunch time.
If that's the case, the Nets might as well just trade the pending restricted free agent.
Russell was the centerpiece of Nets general manager Sean Marks' biggest trade of his three-year tenure. In the summer of 2017, Brooklyn dealt center Brook Lopez, its all-time leading scorer, to the Lakers along with a late first-round draft pick (used on forward Kyle Kuzma) in exchange for Russell and center Timofey Mozgov's monstrous contract.
The Nets' theory was that Russell, the second overall selection in the 2015 NBA Draft, could develop to his full potential in their program. Without any lottery picks of its own until 2019, Brooklyn found one of the few ways to acquire a player with elite skills.
Unfortunately, Russell hasn't yet come close to realizing that potential.
To those who excuse Russell by invoking his youth, let's set this straight. His maturity has never been reported to be an issue in Brooklyn. Unlike the allegations when he played his first two seasons in Los Angeles, Russell has reportedly been every bit of "a leader" on and off the court. He's organized offseason workouts and outings with teammates and even took rookie first-round pick Dzanan Musa under his wing during the summer. He's stood up in front of the media to answer questions and has always responded with the team-first clichés one would expect from a professional.
More importantly, Russell is currently in his fourth NBA season, which means he has accumulated plenty of experience playing in almost any situation. By now, for instance, he should know instinctively how games are lost, since, you know, he's been on the losing end of so many of them.
Unfortunately, Russell's on-court decision-making—the turnovers and poor shot selection—in addition to inconsistent defensive efforts have contributed to losing efforts, which is what really exacerbates Atkinson.
In my view, these issues stem from what should be a bigger concern--Russell's speed deficit when compared to his NBA competition. He can be an explosive scorer, but he doesn't generate very many easy looks for himself, which can make his hot streaks short-lived. He relies on guile, using an assortment of fakes and body positioning to get to his spots. It would be so much easier if, even once in a while, he could just blow by his defender to get to the rim like LeVert and Dinwiddie. He had been scoring about as much as Joe Harris in transition the last two seasons until breaking out for nine such points on Sunday versus the butterfingered (28 turnovers!) Sixers.
Obviously, Russell's lack of quickness is also apparent on the defensive end. Opponents get any look they want by running Russell into screens. Atkinson suggested that defense was his motive for Friday's benching, since the Nets were switching more than usual. It was Dinwiddie who contested Pistons superstar power forward Blake Griffin's missed game-winning attempt at the end of overtime on Wednesday.
Marks has already let the extension deadline to re-sign Russell pass, which was not unexpected. The Nets will have the right to match any offer sheet Russell may sign in July, but first there is a question of how they should handle his approximately $21 million cap hold. Will they renounce it, so they can maximize the cap space to sign their targeted free agents? Of course, then they couldn't subsequently go over the cap to re-sign him.
Sure, Russell's graph should be trending up given his age. We've seen how the Nets' program has maximized player performance. However, how much will Russell improve in six months, when the Nets have to make very important decisions? Is he going to suddenly "get it" on both sides of the floor to make the Nets comfortable doubling down on their investment?
I doubt it.
Since I never have any direct knowledge as to what Marks is thinking, I don't normally speculate about unreported trades. However, given the Russell situation and the (basketball, not political) catastrophe in Washington, would it make sense for the Nets to trade Russell and filler (Kenneth Faried?) to the Wizards for Otto Porter Jr? Remember, the reason Porter Jr. has an outrageous contract (two more seasons for $55.7 million) is because Marks signed him to an offer sheet two summers ago and Washington, perhaps regrettably, matched. Obviously, Marks believed Porter Jr. was worth it then, though I don't know if he's retained those feelings given where the player and the Nets stand today. Porter Jr. may be struggling this season (28.1 percent from three-point range), but he's a career 40 percent shooter from deep at a position the Nets desperately need.
Despite divergent opinions as to his ceiling, Russell has a massive following who believe he is destined for stardom. The Nets once shared that belief. To me, these fourth-quarter benchings indicate that their belief has been shaken, which means a trade might be the best thing for both parties.
For a FAN's perspective of the Nets, Devils and Jets, follow Steve on Twitter @SteveLichtenst1.
