The novel coronavirus pandemic has not only led to a stoppage in play for the NBA, it’s also led to quite a few discussions centered around the league.
Now, most of them have been related to ESPN’s docuseries “The Last Dance” in some form or fashion. But other topics have been discussed — like whether or not Kevin Durant will suit up for the Brooklyn Nets if the 2019-20 season resumes.
The latest item brought up was D’Angelo Russell and his movement across the NBA. Of course, Brooklyn came up in Jon Krawczynski’s story for The Athletic, and Russell’s brother said, “Brooklyn was a place that he needed as well as Brooklyn needed him.”
Furthermore, Russell told Krawczynski he wasn’t ready to give Kenny Atkinson all credit for his development, even though the then Nets head coach’s challenging approach had an impact:
I’m not going to give it to Kenny. I still don’t think he knew what he had, honestly. I don’t think he knew what I was capable of in the fourth quarter.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Russell’s teammate in Minnesota, also expressed the Nets’ decision to replace the 2019 All-Star was tough to see:
Everything was going right, finally has an All-Star year, he’s breaking out of the shell, showing his true potential, and it wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t good enough to be here, you’re not wanted here, we’re going to get rid of you. That’s rough on anybody. It doesn’t matter how good, how popular you are.