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Brooklyn Nets star D'Angelo Russell is enjoying a breakout season this year. Due to that, he should expect a massive payday this summer.
According to Michael Scotto of The Athletic, one Eastern Conference executive already has an expected price tag in mind for Russell at around $20 million a year, while a Western Conference exec envisions perhaps a bit higher:
“I think D’Angelo is worth around $20 million (annually),” one long-time Eastern Conference executive said. “Is this payback time for the Nets? Will teams offer him the way they (Nets) did for Crabbe, Porter, and Johnson? I think he turned the corner. I think he has a chip on his shoulder.”
“He’s going to be in high demand and will get close to max with his overall improvement,” a Western Conference executive said.
This shouldn't come as much of a surprise. D'Angelo Russell has clearly improved leaps and bounds this year, and he's still just 23 years old. There's a chance he'll continue to get better for the next few years as he reaches his prime and turns into a true star in the NBA.
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He's averaging career bests in points (20.5) and assists (6.8) per game. Those aren't empty numbers either, as he's shooting the highest percentage of his career from the field (43.6%), 3-land (36.8%) and free-throw line (82.1%).
Due to that, it also shouldn't be surprising that teams will go after him. Teams will definitely be interested in Russell and might offer a little more money knowing the Nets will be desperate to keep him. Brooklyn will be able to match any offer sheet if he signs one with another team.
It will be impossible to hide their desperation. The Nets have been one of the more miserable teams in the NBA for quite some time now. All of a sudden, Russell has them sitting pretty with a 34-33 record. That's good enough for seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
The Nets will want to keep D'Angelo Russell no matter what. However, they shouldn't expect the price tag to be friendly to them.
