D'Angelo Russell has dealt with a slew of trade rumors ever since he agreed to sign with the Golden State Warriors, with most seeing him as potential trade deadline bait as a player that doesn't lend to their style of play.
Head coach Steve Kerr explained how his star has handled the hoopla surrounding him since inking a four-year, $117 million deal with the Warriors as a result of a Kevin Durant sign-and-trade.
“Money doesn't buy peace of mind, it doesn't buy a sense of belonging, a sense of ‘okay, this is my team,'” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “If there's speculation that you're going to be traded all the time. I don't care how much money you make — that's tough, that's no fun to deal with.
“This season has been nowhere close to what D'Angelo thought it would be when he first signed with us. No Steph. We're struggling to win games, he's had his own injuries. We're throwing all sorts of lineups out there based on the othe injuries we've faced… But this is the NBA and we never know what's coming, what's happening. It's a difficult position to be in in general, but for him in particular — it's a strange set of circumstances and he's handling it really well.”
Russell's arrival came with an enormous seed of doubt, perhaps unlike any other star signing with a new team. Before he even touched down in The Bay, Russell was already viewed as a quick flip, without even being given the chance to mesh next to this roster.
The circumstances have changed drastically after Curry went down to a long-term injury, and his broken left hand will keep him out until the All-Star break at the soonest.
D'Angelo Russell could be traded in less than two months and the uncertainty is surely there, but he gains nothing by pondering what-if scenarios with all of it out of his control.