Are the Warriors acquiring D'Angelo Russell just to trade him?
In order to alleviate some of the sting that came with losing Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets, the Golden State Warriors are reportedly on the verge of acquiring D’Angelo Russell via a sign-and-trade deal.
But maybe the move is about more than just filling some of the void left by Durant’s departure.
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During an interview on the Dan Patrick Show Monday morning, Marc Stein of the New York Times said bluntly that the Warriors will trade Russell down the line. Yes, the same Russell who reportedly has a max contract — four years, $117 million — lined up with the Warriors.
And the notion makes plenty of sense, too.
Here’s what Stein had to say:
“This is all about the future. D’Angelo Russell doesn’t fit there whatsoever,” Stein said. “They just wanted to make sure that they did not see Kevin Durant — arguably the best player in the league when healthy — walk out the door for nothing. They got a 23-year-old All-Star and they will trade him. It’s just a matter of when. Do they keep him for a whole season? Do they trade him at mid-season? Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson aren’t going anywhere, so there isn’t room for D’Angelo.”
Because Klay Thompson suffered a torn ACL in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, he will be sidelined for the majority of the 2019-20 season. That creates an opening for Russell, who averaged 21 points per game and was named to his first All-Star team last year, next to Steph Curry in the Warriors’ starting lineup.
But, to Stein, Russell is not a long-term fit for Golden State. Russell is a 6-foot-5, shoot-first point guard who predominantly had the ball in his hands during his time with the Nets. We all know Thompson is comfortable playing off-ball, but that was a logical happening with Durant in the lineup. With Durant out of the picture, Curry ascends back to the top of the Warriors’ offensive pecking order. And when Thompson is back to full health, it’s hard to envision Russell adapting.
But if Russell acclimates himself well in the short-term, the Warriors will have a heck of a trade chip down the line. It could be at next year’s trade deadline, or it could be after the season — around the time of the draft, perhaps. Offloading Russell, as Stein mentioned, could be a proactive way to position the Warriors for the future from a roster depth perspective and a salary cap perspective.
“This was really about the Warriors protecting themselves for the future,” Stein said. “Next season, this first season in this new palace they’ve built in San Francisco, is really all about setting them up for the future. They want to be able to, in year two, to move forward at the level we’ve been accustomed to watching them for the last five years.”
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