Report: Warriors Want To Keep D’Angelo Russell, Not Trade Him Away

The Golden State Warriors acquired D’Angelo Russell from the Brooklyn Nets through a sign-and-trade deal. They really like Russell, and he will stay around for a while.

The Warriors will never trade Russell away. The same applies to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

“There’s a strong possibility that the Warriors actually want their newest big acquisition for seasons beyond this one,” Ethan Strauss of The Athletic wrote. “Their front-office leaders, Joe Lacob and Bob Myers both, are as smitten with him as any team that just selected a top-5 player in the draft. Myers has heard the assessments of his trade and they appear to grate on him…

“After doing a little digging, I’ve come to buy the Warriors front office on this one. I believe that the Warriors’ public messaging actually matches their private beliefs. While it’s nice to retain the “optionality” that comes with signing a 23-year-old max player, I don’t think that he was primarily acquired for his trade value. The front office’s first hope is that Russell flourishes alongside Curry and becomes a foundational piece.”

Russell is also happy with his new home.

“I’ve been around a little bit to know what the schemes are, so it’s all becoming second nature for me,” he said. “Just having that experience around the league, a little bit of guarding these guys throughout a year and playing against them throughout a year. So you kind of pick up on it.

“I mean coming into the league, I was kind of frail and I could shoot the ball a little bit. I could pass the ball a little bit,” Russell added. “So just watching him throughout his process of being able to guide and take advantage of being frail and how I use that against a stronger defender, or how he got his shot off and get some more athletic defenders, stuff like that.”

“It’s really helpful for the D’Angelo to have played for Luke because a lot of the stuff we do in practices are very similar,” head coach Steve Kerr added. “I think he’ll be good off the ball. He’s a clever passer. A clever basketball player, so he understands how to come off a pindown without the ball and then once he gets in traffic in the paint, he knows how to create either a shot or get the ball out to someone who is not covered and that’s a big deal.”

The Warriors missed the chance to win the title last season, but they are definitely coming stronger this time. Of course, they will have to play without Thompson. Kevin Durant is playing with the Nets now.