D'Angelo Russell used to be the amazing lottery pick of the 2015 NBA Draft. Russell was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, who envisioned him to be a flashy and explosive point guard that could carry the team. Technically, that didn't work out according to plan, and the Lakers said their goodbyes to Russell in the off-season in favor of this year's lottery pick Lonzo Ball.

Now that Russell plays for the Nets, he figures to be the franchise's cornerstone, probably because he's the best player the Nets has right now. Even after spending three years in the NBA, it's clear that Russell has some growing up to do. Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson explained the steps Russell has to take to become the Nets' point guard of the future, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post.

“Listen, he has elite vision. Not average vision, not good vision, elite vision,” Atkinson said. “He makes passes that you have to rewind it two or three times on the tape to see how did he get it without a lot of effort. Obviously a good distributor. I always tell him, ‘You’re a little too high-risk.’ If he could just get down to two or three turnovers.

“It’s a mentality. He has to just understand the high-risk ones we’ve got to eliminate. Obviously he can score the ball. He’s still finding himself as a player in this league. But I love the passing part. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t be around eight to 10 assists every game.”

Russell has been misunderstood since he entered the league. He has been repeatedly labeled as immature by many league executives and the media. This is perhaps Russell's chance to prove the doubters wrong and expand upon the steps that his coach laid out.