Subscribe
Follow Us
Brooklyn Nets guard D'Angelo Russell saw Monday's deadline for his big extension expire with no offer coming his way, now more motivated than ever to prove he's an asset worth keeping.
The lefty point guard spent two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers before being shipped out of town and arriving in Brooklyn, quickly suffering an injury upon the start of the season with his new team. Now heading into his fourth year, Russell will have to convince that he's worth the big money when it comes the time for the Nets to pay up.
“I didn’t know that [deadline], honestly. So whatever happens, happens,” Russell said, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “I definitely care about what they think of me as a player. But as far as numbers and stuff go, we’re planning on just playing the season out, going into the summer, seeing how the season goes and just playing it off that.”
Two of Russell's best friends and draftmates recently inked long-term extensions — first Devin Booker signing a five-year, $158 million extension with the Phoenix Suns and most-recently Karl-Anthony Towns penning a five-year, $190 million one.
Russell won't hide the fact that he wants the same treatment his two friends got from their respective teams this summer.
“That’s the goal. You see someone getting those extension numbers and getting those, that contract extension, that motivates everybody,” Russell said. “Yeah, that’s the goal. You want to earn an extension.You want to sign a contract at the end of the day. As far as the timetable on it, I don’t think there’s any pressure. I try to let my play make that happen. It’s really up to your play. I don’t think you can talk about it or anything. And teams know what type of player I am. I think my play is the only thing that can solidify that.”
Russell is coming off an injury-marred season, which attributed for some of his inconsistencies throughout the 2017-18 campaign. His minutes went down as a precaution after coming back from injury, never really regaining his scoring acumen after averaging 21 points per game before his arthroscopic knee surgery.
