Golden State Warriors newcomer D'Angelo Russell isn't worried about a change that will see him get more opportunities playing off the ball than dominating it, as he did for the past two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets. The lefty guard offered that the NBA has evolved into a positionless game in which players must be versatile and adapt to different situations, something that will help him seamlessly go from the point spot to the off-guard position effortlessly:

“The league has changed in so many ways. There are no point guards anymore, there are no centers anymore; it’s all positionless basketball,” Russell told Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. “I think [we have] a lot of players out there who will just allow [me] to be a basketball player – not having to focus on running the team or being the defensive [anchor] or whatever. There are so many great talents out there that will just allow me to be a basketball player. It’s a situation where I can go in and not worry about being on-the-ball or off-ball or coming off the bench or whatever. I am just being a basketball player. If I have the ball in my hands, I’ll make a play. If don’t, I’ll try to get in position to make a play. I think that’s what it comes down to.”

Russell is confident that what he has learned over his four years in the league will help him make the adjustment after playing with the ball in his hands for most of this past 2018-19 season. The 6-foot-5 Ohio State product was at one point rumored to slide into the shooting guard spot with Jeremy Lin locked as the starter, but Lin's injury eventually put those hopes to rest.

The 23-year-old, however, feels confident his versatility will pay dividends heading into this new venture with the Warriors:

“Yeah, for sure,” said Russell. “Like I said, the game has changed so much. And the more versatile you can be, the more you can thrive out there – on offense and on defense.”

Russell will not only have his spot-up and off-the-ball abilities put to the test, but also his defense against bigger guards as part of his responsibility of manning Klay Thompson's old spot.