If we have to explain the D’Angelo situation in the NBA, it is one of the most tragic ones and shall be considered that the NBA is leaving him behind the pack. In NBA usually, the players do not have a long time to prove themselves on the court. NBA with a limit of 450 players, makes immense pressure on every athlete to not take any game for granted.
D’Angelo Russell is one of the most talented players in the league and to everyone’s case well-deserved to play in the NBA, but him being the No.2 pick in the 2015 NBA draft with such an inconsistent play mixed with some controversies on and off the court and now bouncing off to 3-4 teams before he turns 26 is one of the most surprising cases for the former All-Star.
Most of the young point guards arriving in the league with a lottery pick usually had one thing in common i.e small market teams. Let us take a look at a few cases – Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks), LaMelo Ball (Charlotte Hornets), Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Dame Lillard (Portland Trailblazers) to name a few. Being in a small market team led to fewer expectations and attention from the NBA and gives time for the Rookies to establish themselves in the NBA at their own pace.
Lakers drafted Russell as the No.2 pick from the Ohio state which came as a surprise to a lot of Laker fans. But one of the major situations he was locked into in his rookie year as he was a Point Guard in Kobe Bryant’s farewell season with the Lakers. This immediately was a barrier in his development in his rookie season and Kobe being in his final year, he was given license to have ball control like a Point Guard which is tough for a rookie but he never had a choice. Kobe was a team-high with 17 shots per game in 28 minutes per game which was overall 15th in the league.
When we move to the Post Kobe era, D’Lo got with a squad that is now considered to be one of the best developmental squads in the league post their trades. But his 2nd season was affected by injuries. He used to play 12-15 games than missing a string of games that continued throughout the season which led to another average season.
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Russell was then traded to the Brooklyn Nets in 2017 in exchange for Brook Lopez and the draft rights to Kyle Kuzma but his 1st season was not a memorable one where he was struggling by his knee injuries and just played 48 games that season averaging 21.1 points and 5.2 assists per game, but his averages post-surgery was a mere 15.1 points per game in that season. His best season was his 2nd year with the Nets where he actually was healthy and played 81 games that season and led Brooklyn back to the Playoffs. He averaged 21.1 points 7.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game which gave him his 1st NBA All-Star appearance in the 2018-19 season.
But then his career took a complete U-Turn post his career-best season. D’Lo got traded to the Golden State which was purely an experimental situation to fit in with Steph Curry which Klay Thompson was out with an ACL injury. This was eventually a career-altering move for D’Lo where he was a misfit. He played 33 games for the Golden State Warriors averaging 23.6 points where after a few games at the start of the season, Steph Curry was ruled out for the remainder of the season due to injury.
He was then traded to Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Andrew Wiggins and formed a duo with Karl Anthony-Towns which was supposed to be a great fit for the Wolves, but D’Lo just played 12 games and then had to undergo knee surgery.
In the current season, D’Lo has not been productive enough to for the Timberwolves. KAT and Anthony Edwards are balling out daily, but the 3rd player support has been missing since the start of the season. He is averaging a mere 18.1 points which is a poor shooting average of 37.9% which is the lowest of his career. Should Minnesota look to move away from D’Lo to have their desired Point Guard? Or patience is the key with D’Angelo. We shall see as the season progresses.
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