The Brooklyn Nets continue to seek momentum at the midpoint of the 2023-24 season. Ben Simmons looks promising amid his return from injury, but Brooklyn shook things up at the NBA trade deadline. The team dealt Spencer Dinwiddie for Toronto Raptors guard Dennis Schroder. Yet, the Nets failed to capitalize on the unique opportunity to bring back former All-Star D'Angelo Russell.
Why Brooklyn should have brought back D'Angelo Russell amid Spencer Dinwiddie's departure
The Nets were somewhat conservative at the 2024 NBA trade deadline. Instead of trading for a star, Sean Marks shipped away expiring contracts for future assets. In addition to Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn traded Royce O'Neal to the Phoenix Suns for three second-round picks.
Brooklyn's moves set them up to further build around Mikal Bridges. However, the team could have done even better if they reunited with fan-favorite and highly productive guard D'Angelo Russell.
D'Angelo Russell's Nets ascent
Russell arrived in the borough in 2017 after the Nets traded Brook Lopez to the Los Angeles Lakers in a blockbuster trade. The former 2015 No. 2 overall pick looked destined to leap with a new franchise that was considered to be in competitive purgatory.
However, Russell's first year in Brooklyn was not perfect. He suffered a knee injury that held him out for half of the 2017-18 season. In 48 games, he averaged 15.5 points and 5.2 assists.
Then, Russell took a leap that changed the course of Nets history.
Bleacher Report projected the Nets to finish the 2018-19 season with a record of 29-52. The team's freezing-cold start made the prediction believable. Brooklyn went 8-18 during the season's first quarter. An injury to blooming shooting guard Caris LeVert made the team's woes worse.
However, D'Angelo Russell stepped up as the team's offensive leader and played a key role in helping turn the season around. Russell played in a career-high 81 games and finished with averages of 21.1 points, 7.0 assists, and 1.1 steals on a 36.1% three-point shooting clip.
Russell helped turn Brooklyn's treacherous start into a 42-win-sixth-seed Eastern Conference showing. Sadly, the Nets lost to Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers in five games. Russell's improvement earned him a max contract, but the Nets traded him to the Golden State Warriors in favor of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving's arrival.
Many associated with the Nets organization believed Durant and Irving would take the franchise to the next level. Yet, the team failed to make it out of the second round of the playoffs during the duo's tenure.
Thus, perhaps Brooklyn should have kept D'Angelo Russell. Moreover, the team needed to bring him back ahead of the 2024 NBA trade deadline when the opportunity opened up.
D'Angelo Russell would have rekindled excitement and complimented the Nets core
Russell has displayed great offensive prowess but has been criticized for his inconsistent play. The 27-year-old averaged a lowly 6.5 points per game when the Lakers got swept by the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 Western Conference Finals.
Yet, the Lakers reloaded in 2023-24 with the same unit, and Russell retained issues with his offensive production at times during the season. As a result, Los Angeles contemplated moving him at the trade deadline. Nevertheless, Russell saved himself with a stellar stretch in January.
He scored over 20 points per game in seven straight contests between Jan. 17th and Jan. 29th. His steamy resurgence made the perfect opportunity for the Nets to swoop in and bring him back to the borough.
Russell's scoring and playmaking ability would have given Brooklyn a boost. In addition, his presence could have rekindled the spirit of longtime Nets fans. After all, Russell helped establish the gritty culture the Nets continue to identify themselves with.
Perhaps a D'Angelo Russell reunion in Brooklyn was not meant to be though.
The Nets now boast the services of Ben Simmons, who looks to help break the team's cold streak. Simmons has had his fair share of injury woes, but when he is on the court, he is highly impactful. After missing months of action, he ended Jan. 29th's matchup against the Jazz with an exceptional 10 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds in 18 minutes of play.
Moreover, third-year-guard Cam Thomas is rapidly growing into a core piece of the franchise. He averages an impressive 21.3 points per contest in 2024.
It made sense for Brooklyn to it play safe at the NBA trade deadline to support their plans with Thomas, Mikal Bridges, and possibly Ben Simmons.
All in all, the Nets need a spark amid their post-Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving era. Perhaps D'Angelo Russell can reignite the flame in the borough one day in the future.
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