The Brooklyn Nets have been one of the biggest surprises this season, but does that mean re-signing D’Angelo Russell should be a priority this summer?
Entering this season, many expected the Brooklyn Nets to be a little better than their 28-win mark that they posted in the 2017-18 season, but no one really expected this team to make the playoffs. Even in a weak Eastern Conference.
However, barring an unforeseen collapse over the last few weeks of the season, the Nets will make the playoffs this season and finish with 40-plus wins on the year – something they haven’t accomplished since the 2013-14 season, when they had a few future Hall of Famers on their team.
This season, though, the Nets’ resurgence has been led by three young, rising stars. Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert and D’Angelo Russell, who has absolutely exploded onto the scene in his fourth NBA season.
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The Nets and Dinwiddie agreed to an extension in December, and he’ll be part of the team for at least the next three seasons. LeVert is still under contract for the next two seasons, but would be able to re-sign him to na extension soon. But they still have time to decide on that.
Russell, however, is a player that they need to decide on in July. He becomes a restricted free agent during the summer and it’s going to be interesting to see what the market is for the first-time all-star.
The stats suggest that it won’t be cheap to re-sign Russell. In his fourth season, Russell is averaging 21 points, seven assists and four rebounds on 43 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from 3-point range – all career highs for the young guard.
He also enjoyed his first NBA all-star appearance in 2019, and will likely make even more firsts this season, assuming that the Nets make the playoffs this year.
But what makes this summer’s decision even more difficult is the fact that the Nets could be a hot landing spot for some of the other big-name free agents expected to hit the open market. Names like Jimmy Butler, Kemba Walker, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Klay Thompson are all expected to be unrestricted free agents this summer, and the Nets are expected to be at least somewhat interested in a few of them.
Russell, though, will likely command max or close to max money when he hits the free agent market. The big question is whether or not the Nets will match any contract offers he gets on the open market, or if Russell will try to play nice with Brooklyn and try to help them land a big-name, to couple him with.
While Russell has reignited this franchise this season, the Nets will have to ask themselves if his ceiling is really perennial all-star status in the league. D’Angelo Russell has had an exceptional season this year, however would it still look that way if he were making $20 million this season?
It’s not an easy decision that will have to be made this year, but it’s one that will likely dictate the immediate future for the Brooklyn Nets. So, should re-signing D’Angelo Russell be a priority for the Nets this summer?