After two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, D'Angelo Russell received a fresh start with the Brooklyn Nets for the 2017-18 NBA season. Before arthroscopic knee surgery on Nov. 17, Russell was averaging 20.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in 12 appearances.
As Russell has missed 23 games up to this point, head coach Kenny Atkinson provided an optimistic injury update about the third-year guard according to Greg Logan of Newsday:
“He’s progressing along with our schedule,” Atkinson said. “I’d just say he’s working his tail off. I was watching him in the gym yesterday. It’s an arduous process. He’s putting in a ton of time, he’s putting in full days. It’s been amazing to see his work ethic. He’s been great.”
Once Russell returns, Atkinson will have a good problem with the emergence of Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert in the backcourt:
“We’ll worry about that when we get there,” Atkinson said. “That’s a good problem to have, right? It will just be more competition for minutes and spots. Way back here in the back of my mind, I know what we want to do. But we’ve got to wait until D’Angelo is back to really address that.”
Nearing the midway point of the season, the Nets are currently 13-23, which is 5.5 games out of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. While it is unclear when Russell will return, the hope is he will have an opportunity to play minutes and develop chemistry with the team's young core.
During Russell's absence, the Nets acquired Jahlil Okafor from the Philadelphia 76ers. As two of the top three picks in the 2015 NBA Draft, it will be interesting to see if they can help Brooklyn take the next step in their rebuilding process.
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