Golden State Warriors guard D’Angelo Russell is playing his fifth NBA season, and by now he’s hip to how teams handle their business.
That’s why with trade season looming, Russell isn’t fretting over the Warriors possibly moving him. Dec. 15 is when players who signed deals as free agents over the offseason are eligible to be traded. A restricted free agent over the offseason, Russell joined the Warriors via the sign-and-trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets.
In a story written by The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, Russell talked about how he isn’t worrying about the possibility of being traded.
“I just don’t care (about the buzz),” Russell said. “Simple as that. I just don’t care. “When you say max contract to come in and learn from these guys as much as you can as quick as you can — because you don’t know when you’ll be gone, shipped out — that’s what I’m doing. I can’t control that. I can’t control if Bob Myers is like, yo, let’s go get such and such for this and make this pick. That’s his job. I can’t control it or say anything about it, especially if I’m a part of it. So I don’t waste energy worrying about it.”
With Russell’s max contract, he is signed for four years and $117 million. The Warriors could potentially trade him to not have a salary cap logjam. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are both on max deals for five years, and Draymond Green is on one for four years.
A first-time All-Star last season, Russell has proven to be a solid guard in a league filled with talent at the position. Last season, he averaged 21.1 points per game, a career-high at the time. He also shot 36.9% from the 3-point line and tallied 7.0 assists — both numbers remain career-highs.
This season his scoring has gone up slightly, as he’s scoring 22.0 points per game in 13 games. He has missed some time because of ankle and thumb injuries.
For Russell, it’s just going to be about continuing to show his skills. Whether the Warriors are interested in keeping him or not, his skill set could be useful in multiple places. He’s one of the best pick-and-roll guards in the league. According to NBA.com stats, Russell is scoring 8.8 points a game on plays where he’s the ball handler in the pick-and-roll.