The roundabout career of D'Angelo Russell continued on Sunday, with the former Golden State Warriors guard traded to the Brooklyn Nets in a deal that landed veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith with the Los Angeles Lakers.
It's the second time that Russell has been traded to the Nets, having initially been taken with the second overall pick by the Lakers in the 2015 NBA Draft. The first trade came in June 2017 when Los Angeles sent Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Nets for Brook Lopez and Kyle Kuzma.
Warriors fans hope the D'Angelo Russell trade trend doesn't continue
After becoming an All-Star with Brooklyn in 2019 where he averaged 21.1 points and seven assists, Russell was part of the Kevin Durant sign-and-trade that saw him join a Golden State team coming off five-straight NBA Finals appearances.
Russell only lasted 33 games into his four-year, $117.3 million contract before he was dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves in what became a franchise-altering move for the Warriors. They acquired Andrew Wiggins and a first-round pick that resulted in Jonathan Kuminga, while Russell was never able to recapture his All-Star best in Minnesota.
The Timberwolves traded the left-handed guard to the Lakers in a three-team deal in February 2023, beginning his second stint with the franchise that initially drafted him. Now Russell heads to the Nets for a second time as well, though it's unsure how much he'll actually play for his new team as they continue their full-blown rebuild.
There's a legitimate chance the 28-year-old's expiring contract is flipped to another team, or that he becomes a tantalizing buyout option for a playoff team in need of a second or third guard. Whichever way things go, Golden State fans will be hoping the trend doesn't continue in terms of Russell playing for teams on two seperate occasions as has now been the case with the Lakers and Nets.
Russell did put up 23.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists in his tenure with the Warriors, but they were largely empty calories given Klay Thompson was out injured for the year and Stephen Curry played in just five of those games. Golden State held an 8-25 record in Russell's 33 games with the franchise.
Even if he did become a buyout option and obtainable on a minimum contract, Russell is fairly pointless for the Warriors given they've just traded for Dennis Schroder and have a glut of guards that also includes Curry, Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski and Gary Payton II.