Golden State Warriors guard D'Angelo Russell is here to stay, according to an anonymous executive. The Warriors acquired the one-time All-Star in the Kevin Durant sign-and-trade with the Brooklyn Nets despite a heavy push from the Minnesota Timberwolves to sign Russell should he be renounced and become an unrestricted free agent, but that never materialized.

The rumor mill spit out the idea that Golden State could flip Russell for another asset after Klay Thompson, nursing a torn ACL suffered in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, returns to the hardwood. However, that's not the case on the surface.

Via Keith Smith in RealGM:

On D’Angelo Russell being a tradable asset moving forward: “I’m trying to be nice, but that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. A 23-year-old All-Star on a four-year deal better be someone you can trade easily, or we’re all idiots. Did we sign D’Angelo to trade him? No. We signed him because we had an opportunity to land an All-Star to replace the All-Star we were losing. Let’s not play conspiracy theory here.”

Russell last played for the Nets the past two seasons, incrementally improving himself—along with the team, as Brooklyn made the playoffs in 2019 for the first time in four years—and crowning his personal growth with his first All-Star Game appearance last February.

Seeing no fit on the cap sheet or strategically, Brooklyn's front office and general manager Sean Marks excised the max-offer-worthy Russell from the roster after signing Kyrie Irving and completing the sign-and-trade with Durant.

Russell will now face a new challenge that is sharing the esteemed backcourt with two-time league MVP Stephen Curry and eventually trying to figure out how to play with him and Thompson—assuming the anonymous executive is right in their allegation that Russell is not going anywhere anytime soon.