Nets fans should keep an eye on D'Angelo Russell for the rest of this regular season.
He could be the weather device to make it clear that the team is planning this offseason.
Russell scored 12 points in 25 minutes, four assists and returned to the court for a 127-113 loss at San Antonio after missing five previous games at the ankle on Tuesday.
It was the second mark since I arrived three months ago. The net showed that the backcourt, Russell and Cam Thomas were playing together.
It should be interesting to see a pair whose defenses are unknown, not known to fit a team playing hard on that edge of the court.
But it's not as interesting as what's going on in Russell.
We can't say for certain what Nets' offseason plans are.
They are probably not set up, they don't know where they are drafting or who can use it in trade.
But looking at what happens at Russell, we can give some indications as to whether they have a big game (and famous) hunting in another year, or if they are extending the tank.
After shipping point guard Dennis Schroeder on December 15th – the first day of the unofficial trading season – Brooklyn GM Sean Marks handled Dorian Finney Smith to Russell's Lakers.
However, they didn't get Russell to replace Schroeder's pick-and-roll ability, but Russell has an expired contract that fits Finney Smith, with Russell attaching three second round picks.
However, 8.7 assists per 100 owners with the Lakers, his worst since his rookie season, Russell handed out 12 people per 100 since joining the net.
The ball is in his hands and in the role of leadership, it is believed that Russell said he wanted to stay.
He scored 12 points with four assists in Tuesday's defeat.
And despite the reconstruction, the net that keeps him seems much more likely than when he first arrived three months ago.
Yes, the net has the highest cap space in the league exceeding $60 million.
But once loaded free agent class, the board has come from the board with recent expansions, including superstars Anthony Davis, Jason Tatum, Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell, Damian Lillard, and even outstanding outs like Brandon Ingram, Lauri Markanen, Rudy Gobert and Jamal Murray.
Yes, Mark weaponized the offer sheet in the first reconstruction, allowing cap space to be used for restricted free agents such as Jonathan Kuminga and Josh Giddy.
However, GM was able to corner the cans in the year, extend the tanks to another season, and punt cap space in 2026.
If so, one way is to give Russell a one-year contract or a two-year contract with Team Options.
With the net sitting in a mountain of hat space about the same size as the rest of the league, Detroit is the only team likely to have more than a medium sized exception. Russell's suitors are limited.
And if the net has stars that can be used via trade this summer (Giannis Antetocomo, Lameloball, Trae Young, etc.), then a short-term reunion could make sense for both parties.
Tuesday marked Russell's first match since February 20th.
He came with an average of 13.8 points and 5.8 assists on the net, and since arriving shortly after the New Year, they were 8-9 with him, but a horrifying 1-10 without him and his playmaking.
This includes dropping the previous four headlines into the Spurs game.
However, Brooklyn won the only game where Russell and Thomas wore suits together. The January 2nd victory in Milwaukee was one of their more impressive results.
Russell defeated the Bucks to hand out a net season high 12 assist.
However, Thomas suffered a hamstring injury and continued to stand by him until last week, with the pair not sharing the floor until Tuesday night.
How Russell is intrigued with Thomas (the restricted free agent himself) for the rest of the season.
But it's not as intriguing as Russell's fate signal the offseason.
