Golden State Warriors: 3 players facing most pressure in 2019-20

2. D’Angelo Russell

This is a bit of a no-brainer.

Without a doubt, D’Angelo Russell enjoyed the best season of his career last year, posting a career high 21.1 points and 7.0 assists while also notching a slight increase in his field goal shooting at 43 percent.

If none of the offseason scenarios had came to fruition and Russell re-signed with the Brooklyn Nets instead, the risks would’ve been significantly lower.

The Nets would’ve made him a similar offer based off his huge increase in production from the prior seasons and rolled the dice on the former No. 2 pick.

If all would’ve failed in terms of the team reaching any playoff success, the front office wouldn’t have been under heavy scrutiny for making a calculated guess on Russell’s potential.

Now Russell will have to make an impact on a team that urgently requires his services as they await Klay Thompson‘s rehab to complete, which will more than likely not be the case until after this season.

He and Stephen Curry have wasted little time getting on the court to learn one another’s preferences and build chemistry, as Russell posted a picture of the two in the gym in late July.

The effort by both Curry and Russell is good news for Kerr, who’s optimistic about how Russell will contribute next season.

If all goes well with Russell gelling with his new teammates, he’ll live up to the hype that’s surrounded him this offseason and hopefully contend for the Warriors in the long haul.