According to Golden State Warriors General Manager, Bob Meyers, the Golden State Warriors will give D’Angelo Russell a fair chance to prove himself.
Bob Myers Wants to See What He Has
From the moment D’Angelo became a Golden State Warrior, speculation began that he was going to be traded as soon as the opportunity presents itself. As per league rules, he can’t be traded before December 15th, so he was always going to play for them anyway. Even though GM Boy Myers made the statement yesterday that he didn’t sign Russell just to trade him, he has no choice but to say that if he hopes to get the best out of his current asset.
Even if the fit with the Warriors doesn’t work out, he will need D’Angelo Russell to at least be playing well to have the most possible value if they do trade him. With Klay Thompson out with a knee injury, Russell will have his chance to prove what he can do. He’s a 23-year-old All Star and was the best player on a playoff team, so the tools for success are there.
If they can develop chemistry, this could actually be a good thing for Steph Curry because of D’Angelo’s ball handling ability and court vision. If Steph can be free of ball handling and playmaking responsibilities and just focus on scoring during certain stretches of a game, that could be deadly. During this entire five year Finals run, Steph has always been the primary ball handler with Klay coming off screens looking to score. They’ve never had a second ball handler with D’Angelo’s ability. If they give Steph the chance to play the “Klay Thompson role” when he’s hot, that will be a defense’s worst nightmare. There will be an adjustment period for Russell as well because he will have to learn to play off the ball more than ever before. The Warriors offense is as fluid as any in the NBA and he should be able to find easier shots than he has ever had at any point in his career.
What Happens When Klay Thompson Comes Back?
How the fit works when Klay Thompson returns from injury is the wildcard in this equation. He usually guards the other team’s best perimeter player but he’s coming off an ACL injury. He can’t have two teammates on the floor with him in the back court that don’t defend at all. Even though on offense, Thompson doesn’t need to dominate the ball to be effective (he once scored 43 points on only 4 dribbles). In order for this thing to work, Russell will have to play much better defense than he’s shown so far in his career. Even before Thompson comes back, we will have a clear idea of how this new look Warriors team is doing by how much D’Angelo and Steph play together on the floor. Neither of them are great defenders and if anything, Steph is the better of the two, which means Steve Kerr might have to stagger their minutes in certain situations.
Russell will never be a great defender. He will be expected to try much harder than he ever has on that end and with his size, he has the potential to be much better. The environment that D’Angelo is walking into is different that anything he’s experienced in his career. The Warriors might not be favorites like they once were, but they do have an established championship culture. They also aren’t dead and when Klay Thompson comes back, they will be expected to make moves to bring in players in order to continue to compete while Steph, Klay and Draymond are still in their primes. How D’Angelo Russell plays in the first half of the season will determine if he’ll be a piece of the Warriors future or piece in a trade to find that guy.
