Brooklyn Nets: Projecting the Kyrie Irving-D’Angelo Russell duo

There is a report suggesting Kyrie Irving could be on his way to the Brooklyn Nets. Would he fit well with D’Angelo Russell?

Free agency rumors are heating up for the Brooklyn Nets. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith reported a couple of days ago that for free agent guard Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn is “where he wants to go.” Who knows how this will play out, but the prospect of Irving signing has left many to ponder whether Nets restricted free agent D’Angelo Russell would be a good fit with the six-time All-Star.

Both are lead guards that are at their very best with the ball in their hands, but this doesn’t mean the pairing couldn’t work. Some may still view playing two point guards as a bad idea, but this simply isn’t as problematic as it once might have been.

In the NBA of the past, plenty of point guards were thought of as distributors who couldn’t always shoot well. But in today’s NBA, most point guards are capable 3-point shooters, allowing them to still operate well off-the-ball.

Both Irving and Russell are real threats from beyond the arc with career percentages of 39.0 and 35.3, respectively. Even if one doesn’t have the ball, they would still pose a significant threat. It’s possible neither would be a super active off-ball mover/cutter, but this wouldn’t exactly be necessary for a successful offense. Plenty of point guard combinations have had success, most recently the Damien Lilliard-CJ McCollum and James Harden-Chris Paul pairings.

High school basketball coach Kevin Boyle, who coached both Irving and Russell in high school — Irving at St. Patrick High School in New Jersey and Russell at Montverde Academy in Florida — is confident the pair could thrive together. Per the New York Post.

"“I 1,000% think that could work. D’Angelo knows Kyrie, likes him, respects him. That could work with both sides. Kyrie could help D’Angelo to that top-10, top-15 level,”"

There doesn’t seem to be a significant basketball reason the duo couldn’t work offensively, but there’s no guarantee things click. These things sometimes come down to chemistry. Based on Boyle’s remarks, perhaps this wouldn’t be a concern.

The defensive end is where the pairing could potentially have some issues, as neither is regarded as particularly strong on this end of the floor. This shouldn’t be an insurmountable problem, but Brooklyn would likely have to sprinkle capable defensive players around the duo. The question, however, is whether these defensive players will be on the roster.

There’s an argument to be made that DeMarre Carroll, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Ed Davis were the three best defensive players for the Nets last season. A five-man lineup featuring this trio and the Russell-Irving duo would actually be pretty intriguing. The issue, however, is that all three are free agents.

There are countless ways the free agency period could play out for Brooklyn. If multiple stars come calling, losing the likes of Carroll, Hollis-Jefferson and Davis would likely be worth it. If it’s possible, however,  Nets fans should hope the team retains some of its defensive specialists, particularly if the Irving-Russell duo ends up materializing.