Would A Russell Reunion Work For The Nets?
Forgive me if you consider this “clickbait.” But what else are Nets fans supposed to care about these days?
Before anyone gets too excited about Brooklyn’s shocking 130-112 victory over the host Lakers on Friday night, recall how short-lived the euphoria was after the Nets knocked off Oklahoma City, the No. 2 seed in the West, two weeks ago. Brooklyn went on to lose its next four games. Next up is the Clippers on Sunday afternoon, which could easily send the Nets home on a sour note.
So call the Lakers win a thrilling but temporary reprieve in a season that has gone too far sideways to save. The Nets (17-24) are still in a stretch that has seen 15 losses in the last 20 games. They have fallen out of an Eastern Conference play-in seed, no easy task. Friday night aside, Brooklyn Head Coach Jacque Vaughn hasn’t found answers to issues on both ends, and who knows if they’d be heard anyway by players like Spencer Dinwiddie, of whom ESPN’s Zach Lowe questioned in a Friday column whether he was “on strike”?
Dinwiddie certainly showed up to play in his hometown L.A., scoring 19 points on 11 field goal attempts. He’s performed well on some other nights, too, but his inconsistency has been emblematic of his team’s struggles and the resulting frustrations from the tortured Nets fan base.
As such, we have nothing better to do than monitor various trade rumors, even if 99% of them, including those in this forum, are pure conjurings. Like many fans, I spend too much time working the Trade Machine sites because after the February 8 NBA deadline, it’s going to be a long, slow slog through the remainder of the season.
The current object of everyone’s attention is Atlanta guard Dejounte Murray, who most insiders believe will be dealt sometime in the coming weeks. Murray, a 2022 All-Star who knocked down his second consecutive game-winner on Friday night, would surely give any new team a boost. However, I’ve written previously (A Trade For Murray Not The Answer To The Nets’ Woes (substack.com)) why it wouldn’t be wise for Brooklyn General Manager Sean Marks to expend some of his Draft capital to acquire a player who at this late juncture wouldn’t elevate the Nets into a top-six seed. So I felt relief when reading Michael Scotto’s HoopsHype.com report that Marks has thus far been “shying away from Atlanta’s asking price of at least two first-round picks for Murray.”
The operative words being “thus far”. There are other reports suggesting that Marks will be a buyer in this market, as opposed to merely dumping the pending free agent contracts of Dinwiddie, wing Royce O’Neale, and maybe even center Nic Claxton.
Or maybe he does a bit of both. There is a scenario where Brooklyn can marginally improve their squad while solving the Dinwiddie dilemma.
According to multiple reports, the Hawks are focused on obtaining Draft picks for Murray. Since no team has the salary cap space to take in Murray’s $18.2 million 2023-24 cap hit, Atlanta would have to take back money in the deal. (Note: Per spotrac.com, only the Nets, via the offseason Joe Harris trade, and the Hawks have trade exceptions exceeding that amount, though Brooklyn would be foolish to break through the luxury tax threshold when they’ve spent all season being budget conscious. Murray, of course, already plays for the Hawks) Multiple reports indicated that Atlanta has no interest in anything other than expiring contracts.
That apparently is the sticking point in the Hawks’ negotiations with the reeling Lakers, who have 1s on hand to make deals to extend the championship contending window of superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis but would have to include guard D’Angelo Russell in a Murray trade to make it legal under the league CBA. Russell, a former Net who was part of the sign-and-trade that put Kevin Durant in a Brooklyn uniform in the 2019 offseason, has a 2024-25 player option for nearly $18.7 million. Atlanta reportedly wants to find a third party to flip Russell before agreeing to deal Murray.
And here’s where the Nets could enter the picture. In a three-way trade, the Hawks could get Dinwiddie and his approximately $20.4 million expiring contract from Brooklyn, and 2023 No. 17 overall pick Jalen Hood-Schifino plus other Draft picks (including at least one first-rounder) from L.A. The Lakers then get their man in Murray.
What’s in it for the Nets? They’d get a more productive offensive player in Russell and actually save a few bucks in the process. The shooting splits comparison going into Friday’s contest:
Russell: 47.3/40.1/77.2
Dinwiddie 39.1/31.9/77.9
Look, I’m under no illusions as to Russell’s limitations, particularly on the defensive end. Despite an efficient 20-point outing, he often looked disengaged on Friday. A trade would make it twice where he’s worn out his welcome in L.A., though the first time he was just a kid.
However, Russell did bring quite a bit of juice when he had the ball in his hands during his first stint in Brooklyn, earning a 2019 All-Star berth thanks to some tremendous performances. I’ll never forget staying up late to watch his 27-point fourth quarter that spurred a remarkable comeback from 28 points down in Sacramento. With teammates of James’ and Davis’ caliber no longer around to command deference, Russell, still only 27 despite being traded four times, would pretty much be in the same familiar situation as in that wonderful 2018-19 Nets season, for only Mikal Bridges needs regular touches among Brooklyn’s current starters.
And in the “I’ll believe it when I see it” department, even if Ben Simmons is able to return from his back rehab to play meaningful minutes as the de facto point guard, that would also work in Russell’s favor. They were actually teammates in prep school. It’s not like Simmons would take Russell’s shots--he averaged six field goal attempts per game prior to his injury. Simmons’ presence would also allow the Nets to hide Russell defensively, though their reversion to all-out switching could become problematic.
If there’s an opportunity for Marks to get something better for Dinwiddie in the form of a Draft pick, I’d probably have a different view. Though I disagreed with Lowe’s assertion that Dinwiddie works better with the ball in his hands—I’d retort that his most efficient stretch came in Dallas as a side man for Luka Doncic and, in some situations, Jalen Brunson--Lowe’s column touched on what I have been writing since Dinwiddie was brought back to Brooklyn in last February’s Kyrie Irving trade. It’s hard for me to believe that his value as the featured trade piece today is worth even a second-round pick—and any such deal could require Brooklyn to also take on an even more onerous contract.
There isn’t much downside to my proposition for Brooklyn, for if Russell struggles and exercises his option, he’ll be deemed an expiring contract at a workable number to trade starting in the summer. He isn’t Simmons.
So, who’s up for a Russell reunion?