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Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks says there is no update on a possible contract extension for starting point guard D'Angelo Russell.
Russell is slated to make $7.02 million this upcoming season. If he and the Nets are unable to agree upon an extension before the season starts, Russell will enter restricted free agency in the summer of 2019 if Brooklyn offers him a $9.16 million qualifying offer.
Nets GM Sean Marks on contract extension possibility for D'Angelo Russell, and others. Both Russell and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson are eligible for extensions this year. A max rookie extension next summer would be five years, $158 million. pic.twitter.com/Nwg47igsTi
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) September 18, 2018
The Nets acquired D'Angelo Russell from the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2017. In 48 regular-season games last season, Russell averaged 15.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists, shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from 3.
Russell, 22, underwent arthroscopic left knee surgery in November to remove loose bodies. The former No. 2 overall pick said in August he’s not focusing on the contract extension and, instead, wants to let his play do the talking for him.
“That’s not something I can control, so I just want to play, to be honest,” Russell told Michael Scotto of The Athletic. “That’s really been my main focus. Staying healthy and finishing the season on a positive note. As a team, there’s a lot that we can really work on. Those have really been outweighing my thoughts on an extension and all of that.”
The Nets are prioritizing cap space for the summer of 2019 when they’ll potentially have money to sign two max contract players. Marks has said multiple times this offseason he wants to have cap flexibility.
Brooklyn finished 12th in the Eastern Conference in 2017-18. The Nets won 28 games and lost 54. Head coach Kenny Atkinson says the goal for this season is to take another step forward and build positive habits.
Nets coach Kenny Atkinson says no set number to strive for in win column: “We have to take another step forward. Take another big step. That’s the goal. I think our guys are excited about it. I think we’ve put in a lot of work this off-season."
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) September 18, 2018
Russell has shown flashes of being a high-caliber player, but he has been too inconsistent thus far in his NBA career and is a liability on defense. This is a big year for the lefty. He needs to show the Nets, and the rest of the league, that he can be a dependable floor general.
