D’Angelo Russell bringing buzz to Nets

As Brian Lewis writes Sunday, the Nets weren’t just a bad team last season, they were bland, without much buzz. Jeremy Lin’s recurring hamstring injuries made it difficult to resurrect LinSanity and the team had 24 players on the roster at one point or another.

Enter D’Angelo Russell, whose combination of skills and (Page Six) personality presents the Nets with a marketing opportunity. And we all know who’s the maven of marketing.

“He creates a lot of talk value for us. With fans, we hear it on social media platforms and just generally speaking with ticket sellers and buyers. That’s good,” Brett Yormark told The Post. “That’s good, right? We want to create a conversation with your fans, and he’s helped do that.”

Like the front page of the Nets website.

Yormark is not the only marketeer who likes what he sees in the 21-year-old.

“The NBA is a star-driven league, a celebrity league. It taps into popular culture,” YES Network president Jon Litner told Lewis. “The combination of tremendous athletic talent with celebrity, it’s a real positive, no different than Russell Westbrook, who has an affinity for clothes but has a tremendous game on the court.”

Russell has linked in gossip column with Kendall Jenner, Niki Withers and TV host Jennifer Leon. Of course, he will have to perform.

Lewis didn’t talk to Russell, but in his interview with Woj last week, the new Nets guard seemed to want less of the L.A. lifestyle. And the night of the Draft, Woj suggested that Russell was likely to thrive on the court out of the spotlight.

“I think Brooklyn ... the environment is just going to be basketball,” Woj added, saying that “the coaching, I think Kenny Atkinson, for him” will be crucial.

• D’Angelo Russell’s fame solves at least one of the Nets’ issues - Brian Lewis - New York Post