Late on Sunday night, the first night of the NBA’s free agency period, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news that that the Warriors and the Nets agreed on a sign and trade deal for Brooklyn point guard D’Angelo Russell.
Earlier in the day, the Warriors learned that Kevin Durant was leaving the team for the Brooklyn Nets to join Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan to form the NBA’s latest super team.
Despite the fact that Durant is going to be out for the next season, the Nets had a nice foundation set in place already, and should be competitive in the Eastern Conference while Durant heals.
One of the reasons that Brooklyn outperformed all expectations was the growth of Russell, who became an All-Star for the first time this season, leading the Nets to the postseason. The Warriors will pay him a $117 million contract over the next four years.
At his best, Russell is a phenomenal passer who can knock down shots from deep. He’s never going to be an excellent defender, but shows effort on that side of the ball when motivated and/or in a system that prioritizes the defensive end of the ball.
The Warriors, of course, are coming off a Finals loss, their fifth consecutive trip to the final series of the year. They’ll be without Durant (in Brooklyn) and Klay Thompson (torn ACL) next season, and will hope that Russell can come in and fill some of the void left by those two.
