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Brooklyn Nets: 2017-18 NBA season preview

By Josh Cornelissen

GREENBURGH, NY - AUGUST 11: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been digitally altered) Jarrett Allen of the Brooklyn Nets poses for a portrait during the 2017 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot at MSG Training Center on August 11, 2017 in Greenburgh, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
GREENBURGH, NY - AUGUST 11: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been digitally altered) Jarrett Allen of the Brooklyn Nets poses for a portrait during the 2017 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot at MSG Training Center on August 11, 2017 in Greenburgh, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images /

Storyline 1: What do the Nets have in D’Angelo Russell?

The Brooklyn Nets have been without a top draft pick for years, moving from a playoff team picking in the 20s to a bottom-dweller that didn’t own its own picks. Players such as Mason Plumlee, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen offer only so much upside.

By leveraging their cap space and best veteran player in Brook Lopez, the Nets were able to bring in a top prospect in D’Angelo Russell. The second overall pick as recently as 2015, Russell found himself the odd man out as Los Angeles planned to take Lonzo Ball and have a new culture instilled in Lakerland.

The question is which player D’Angelo Russell will turn out to be. Is he an immature chucker with delusions of stardom but just an inefficient game to back them up, a cancer to a healthy team culture who will never have his teammates trust him? Or is he a dynamic scoring guard with a tight handle, improving floor vision and a wet jumper waiting to turn into the next All-Star point guard?

The Lakers saw too much of the first Russell to try him and Ball out side-by-side. Concerned that their window to move Mozgov would close after teams used up their cap space, Magic Johnson flipped Russell before he risked damaging the new Showtime culture in L.A.

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The problem with evaluating Russell based on the culture in L.A. is that he was not the cause of it. He certainly made headlines in ratting out former teammate Nick Young, and that caused a problem in the locker room. But there were issues stemming from a number of sources on the Lakers, and losing doesn’t breed a positive culture.

There is little reason to assume Russell will harm the team atmosphere in Brooklyn, and there is plenty to like about his game. As a 20-year-old last season, he dropped 15.6 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game.

The only players in NBA history to average those numbers at his age are a collection of six All-Stars and MVPs, plus Tyreke Evans — LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, John Wall. While the Evans outlier stands out as the downside, the other players suggest a high ceiling.

Jeremy Lin is too brittle and too old to be the foundation point guard for the next good Brooklyn team. D’Angelo Russell is the perfect age to be the primary or secondary offensive weapon on this team in five years when they can finally hope to contend. This season will be about evaluating Russell to see whether he can be the player they hope for.

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