Even in Round 2, Lakers D’Angelo Russell: “Timberwolves held me back”

The Minnesota Timberwolves may have a track record of parting ways with a number of NBA players prematurely, but this team holds the longest chapter of point guard D’Angelo Russell’s career. After all, any team that has D’Angelo Russell on their roster eventually comes to learn that, while solid on the basketball court, DLo comes with his own set of problems.

Fans of the Los Angeles Lakers know all too well that it was Russell who recorded his teammate Nick Young as he admitted to cheating on then-fiance music performer Iggy Azalea, and then released that to the public, ending Young’s relationship with Azalea. While that was not a problem that occurred on the basketball court, neither Nick Young nor D’Angelo Russell’s on-court performances could insulate them from off-court controversy. That led to the Los Angeles Lakers parting ways with both Russell and Young.

From there, D’Angelo Russell forged a new career with the Brooklyn Nets and did well there. But DLo has struggled to find the maturity to find contentment wherever he ends up, and even with the Nets, he began to find fault. The Nets seemed to hold an ideal situation for Russell, but it did not last.

Eventually, his chapter with the Nets ended as quickly as it had appeared. He chose to sign with the Golden State Warriors as an NBA free agent. Well, it was more of a sign and trade.:

"” I knew I wasn’t going back to Brooklyn . . . I never knew exactly. I just kinda—you work with these guys every day. You see the same players, you see the same coaching staff, you see the same trainers every day. So when they start to act a little different, you recognize it. … I could feel it.” – D’Angelo Russell as quoted by Bleacher Report’s Megan Armstrong"

And then he played for the Golden State Warriors. It was supposed to be the last piece to an NBA dynasty. But he had the chance to sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that coveted him and made no secret of their wishes to add him to their roster.  That was not how that chapter was written for either the Timberwolves or D’Lo.

He wanted brighter spotlights, a bigger stage, and bigger stacks of cash than he believed he would get playing at Target Center.

Is that really why DLo didn’t choose the Timberwolves?

The Timberwolves were an option for D’Angelo Russell after he played for the Brooklyn Nets. They simply were not the option that suited D’Angelo Russell at the time. The Golden State Warriors needed offense, and DLo has earned a reputation with the Brooklyn Nets as a player who could put points on the scoreboard. And so, the Brooklyn Nets pulled off a sign and trade with the Warriors, and D’Angelo Russell was playing for his third NBA team in five seasons:

"“I remember going through the process and I was like, ‘If I go to Minnesota, I play with Karl- (Anthony Towns) and all the guys who will be there,” he told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “I could potentially settle down and relax and unpack my bags. But there’s something telling me you gotta go get every bit of money you’re worth right now.” – D’Angelo Russell as per NBC Sports Bay Area coverage"

And thus ended DLo’s chapter with the Nets

DLo and the Dubs

You might think that competing with the Golden State Warriors would be the end of this tale, and yet, it is one of the shortest chapters of D’Angelo Rusell’s NBA career. He played 33 games for the Warriors, and with all of his bravado did not move the needle one iota. After 33 games, the Golden State Warriors were 9-24.

Just months after he was signed by the Dubs, he was traded away. And reports at the time were pretty consistent with his previous NBA teams. DLo had worn out his welcome once more. And yet, it was the Minnesota Timberwolves who bore the brunt of the trade, a savage series of two thumbs down ensued from almost anyone who covered the NBA.

In 20/20 hindsight, the terms certainly do seem to favor the Warriors. But at the time, Andrew Wiggins’s contract was horrible, and the Timberwolves packaged a salary dump deal and acquisition of D’Angelo Russell in one fell swoop.

Timberwoles trade for D’Angelo Russell

The Minnesota Timberwolves were not out of the picture by a long shot. While the team had tried and failed to acquire D’Angelo Russell from the Brooklyn Nets, this team was extremely motivated to get him. DLo was a very good friend to Minnesota Timberwolves’ lone star, Karl-Anthony Towns,  The Timberwolves were convinced that the team would lose Towns to free agency without leverage. Russell, and his friendship with Towns, was that leverage.

"“This is where I am right now, so I’m going to make the best of it … while I’m here.” – D’Angelo Russell after being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves as per The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski"

D’Angelo Russell has been an NBA nomad, a player who had never played for the same city for more than two years. Despite all of that history, the Minnesota Timberwolves believed in the player, and in themselves, enough to envision a long-standing relationship with Russell.

On the move again

What was the narrative behind the Warriors’ trading of  D’Angelo Russell on this occasion?

"“The Warriors, as much as anything with this move, gave up on Russell. Seven months after they contorted the entire franchise into a pretzel to get him, five months after he showed up to camp, the Warriors abandoned The Russell Project. They were so eager to get rid of him that they are embracing a player considered to be on one of the worst contracts in the league.” – As reported per Bleacher Report’s Joseph Zucker"

While it left the Minnesota Timberwolves wide open to criticism, the team did land D’Angelo Russell finally. That could have been the end of it. Well, should have been. But the Minnesota Timberwolves, as eager as this team was to land Russell, would not be any more immune to his antics than any other team who he played for previously, as we shall see.

Nice guys finish last. So do nice teams

The white knight team that rescued D’Angelo Russell this time was none other than the Minnesota Timberwolves. And for the next 3 years, spanning four NBA seasons, the Timberwolves were content to keep Russell on their roster. The Timberwolves were an improving team. But make no mistake, the improvement was not coming from their point guard, but rather from their young star shooting guard, Anthony Edwards.

You might think that would be an ideal situation for any NBA player, particularly after the Timberwolves did not stand pat, but rather took risky roster moves to improve the team. After the Timberwolves traded for Rudy Gobert, the Timberwolves starting five would almost pilot itself, and the only thing that the Timberwolves asked of D’Angelo Russell was to score points and feed the basketball to the open shooter.

The third time was no charm

That did not last, as the Timberwolves lost Karl-Anthony Towns to injury, and had to lean more heavily upon the remaining veterans. That was not what Russell wanted, as he balked at working to integrate Rudy Gobert into the Timberwolves’ offense, and then balked at being the team’s point guard altogether:

The problem with all of that is that change in D’Angelo Russell’s role made him a higher-paid shooting guard than Anthony Edwards, and Edwards is five times the player that Russell is. The Timberwolves may have been a nice team to acquire DLo, but the kid gloves were off when they joined the string of NBA teams that decided that the team was better off without D’Angelo Russell than with him.

If D’Angelo Russell is happy with the Lakers, why throw shade at Timberwolves?

Now this should be the final chapter of D’Angelo Russell’s NBA journey, it’s come full circle now, back to his NBA point of origin. And the Los Angeles Lakers are taking it to the Golden State Warriors in Round 2 of the best-of-seven series in the NBA Playoffs. For my part, I’m happy that he has finally found a home. I’m delighted that DLo is no longer synonymous with a player whose only motivation is about himself, and who wilts in the face of real competition.

My only concern now for the Lakers is: Enjoy it while you can.

With age comes maturity. With maturity comes a sense of level-headedness that takes everything in stride, a mental toughness that does not dive into those shallow recesses of deep slumps nor climb to the thinly-oxygenated heights of one-time performance. It’s the ability to be consistent and present, to be happy with where you are in the moment, and to appreciate the rigors of the journey that has carried you to that point in your life and career.

But that is a lesson that seems to evade D’Angelo Russell even now.

In the article by Lakers Daily writer Orel Dizon, D’Angelo Russell allegedly was ‘held back,’ by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He even accused the uncertainty of his future with the team of exacting a toll on him. He compared himself to a bird:

"“Yeah, so I would play in that because I felt that my confidence was being taken away with the style that I was playing in. I’m a killer, man. I’m a bird that needs to fly, and I couldn’t really fly there. They put me in a box that I was successful in…but I did that for confidence. I enjoy just playing, and I would play some of my best games in that (run), because I didn’t really have a rhythm (in the real games). I had to kind of cater to guys.” – D’Angelo Russell as per an article by Lakers Daily writer Orel Dizon"

That narrative is entertaining, yes.

Owning problems is the first step to fixing problems

But it reflected none of the roles that Russell played in his time with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was benched in the playoffs last season because he was ineffective. He was unable to lead the team to success until the Timberwolves added a tough-minded veteran point guard in Patrick Beverley. And that ‘box’ that he was placed into was the expectation to get the basketball to his teammates.

I thanked the Los Angeles Lakers for taking Dr. Jeckyl/Mr. Hyde aspects of D’Angelo Russell in a previous article. The comments responding to that article seemed to strike a nerve. I expect more of the same reaction to this piece too.

But you can always judge the person you are dating or even friends with by the way they talk about their former relationships. If they were always the victim, that is a huge warning flag to steer clear.  You see, you can bet donuts to dollars that you will be talked about in the same manner if and when the relationship ends.

Appreciate great performances, yes. But if that day comes when D’Angelo Russell wears out his welcome with the Los Angeles Lakers, do not be shocked if DLo is talking about how unfairly he was treated by the Los Angeles Lakers.

It’s just one more of the things that DLo does.