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The D'Angelo Dilemma

When you look at D'Angelo Russell you might find yourself conflicted: On the one hand you see a skilled, young leader who has a mind and eye for the game (who also has a highlight reel that's pretty impressive); On the other hand you see a player who's been plagued by injuries in all of his now three years in the NBA. With trade considerations constantly surrounding the Brooklyn Nets—the latest being a Russell trade for Kemba Walker—it leaves you to wonder whether Russell's playing days in Brooklyn are numbered...OR could they just be getting started?

There is a lure to the style of play, a sort of swagger that has the casual fan's approval of the lefty D'Angelo Russell. But his injuries over the past few years have allowed him to play fewer and fewer games:

80 in 2016 (Lakers)

63 in 2017 (Lakers)

48 in 2018 (Nets)

So we ask ourselves—and likely the Nets have asked themselves—can he stay healthy? Which leads to the ultimate question as we push through the offseason: What to do with him? He's a young player with great upside and room to grow. Do we stick with him at point and add weapons on the wing? If so, who? Do we make him a wing player and try to acquire a pure point? If so, who can we pair him with to (1) help him develop his talents at the two-guard position, and/or (2) ease the offensive load on the third year rising star? Do we explore limiting his minutes and having him come off the bench?

If the Brooklyn Nets have making a playoff run as their top priority, they've got quite a ways to go. The team has been in a constant state of flux since their move from New Jersey to Brooklyn in 2012. There's been player and coach turnover galore over the course of six years, and there appears to be little light at the end of the tunnel. Most recently, in the player world, the Nets traded Jeremy Lin to the Atlanta Hawks, and acquired Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur from the Denver Nuggets in a two-for-one swap for Isaiah Whitehead. I scratch my head at this move since neither Nuggets player had outstanding stats over the 2017-18 season and Whitehead was an up-and-comer on the Brooklyn squad.

K. Faried— Averaged 5.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 0.4 blocks and 0.6 assists per game in 2017-18 over 32 games (Denver).

D. Arthur— Averaged 2.8 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.2 blocks and 0.5 assists per game in 2017-18 over 19 games (Denver).

I'm not sure what the Nets intend for these two players, other than manning a second unit, or finagling some wacky trade and/or draft moves downstream. Although, at the above stat line Faried may be a true asset at the power forward position, the Nets will definitely need him to stay healthy beyond 32 games. Darrell Arthur's numbers just don't stand out to me (shrug). Be that as it may, these acquisitions don't quite help D'Angelo Russell.

Enter: Shabazz Napier. Napier entered the league 24th overall in the 2014 NBA Draft with high praise from Lebron James who talked him up via Twitter. In just four years Napier has been on as many teams, most recently the Portland Trail Blazers where he played behind Damian Lillard, and at times stood in for an injured Lillard.

Another quick stat line:

S. Napier— Averaged 8.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game in 2017-18 over 74 games (Portland).

It's a respectable stat line considering he came off the bench. It's also worth mentioning Shabazz has been to two playoff openings with Portland (albethey both decisive sweeps in the first round) but could he be D-Russ' saving grace? I'd venture to call it at least a start. Even if the Nets don't acquire a veteran/All Star name (Leonard, Butler, Smart, Capela), they'd still be pretty viable if Shabazz could allow Russell to play off the ball and be a scoring machine.

Oh, forgive me. I never gave you D'Angelo's stat line:

D. Russell— Averaged 15.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists per game in 2017-18 over 48 games (Brooklyn).

That's pretty good considering he's still a young talent at age 22 with the reins of a big city team. I would venture to say Russell could be the future of the Brooklyn Nets—if the Nets are willing to work through the growing pains of nurturing a young star. Recently his future has been questioned by pundits around the league, and in my humble opinion to trade him away now would be for naught. Russell would be the foundation the team ought to start on and build around. Freeing him up at the point guard position is the first of many moves in the right direction for this team. Adding another shooter to compliment Russell's shooting ability, especially a three-point shooter or a dominant post player (i.e. the still available Clint Capela) would be move number two that the Nets should focus on.

Trading D'Lo away would be like starting all the way over again. Getting Kemba Walker, a Bronx native, would be great for the city, great for Walker, and his abilities right now eclipse D'Angelo's greatly, but would it bring about the championship contention the city has starved for? If you get Walker, who would be his second and third options? Darrell Arthur? Kenneth Faried? Is Shabazz going to come off the bench behind Kemba Walker? Like the Melo-Lin trade talks, it's all more of the same.

Could there be a better deal that would land Walker and Russell on the court as starters in a Nets uniform? Ahhhh, I dream...That would take some miraculous creation of cap room on some imaginary Brooklyn roster that hasn't already set contracts for some mediocre talents. I digress, Brooklyn, I digress.

Think about it Brooklyn. Love you, New York.

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