Minnesota Sports Forum

CoolBreeze44 wrote:It's February 9, 2023, and I don't have to watch D'angelo Russell play in a Wolves uniform anymore. It's a good day.

60WinTim wrote:Jonny K wrote an in-depth article on the trade:

https://theathletic.com/4169502/2023/02/09/dangelo-russell-trade-mike-conley-timberwolves/

Okay, now I am just kind of pissed. Good riddance to Dlo. I now believe that his departure erased a cloud of tension that was hanging over the team. Maybe that's why we had a barrage of made 3-pointers last night!

[indent] Russell did not have that patience with Gobert this season. When he's not catching lobs for dunks, Gobert has an awkward aesthetic around the basket. It can lead to ugly missed layups, wild runners and fumbled passes. The lack of fluidity frustrated Russell. He didn't hide his displeasure from teammates or opponents, who heard him lamenting Gobert's offensive shortcomings during games. It was part of a messy acclimation process for a team being asked to play a completely different style than the one that got them to the playoffs last year.[/indent]


One of the selling points for keeping Dlo after the Gobert trade was the potential for lob passes, like DLo's days with Allen in Brooklyn. I don't remember who was the chief seller on that point, but here's this:

[indent] While Russell is a gifted passer, the Timberwolves took for granted that the lobs would come easy to the pair. The lob simply wasn't as big of a part of Russell's pick-and-roll approach as one might believe with a passer of his talent level. For all of the success Russell had with Allen in Brooklyn, he only completed 15 alley-oop passes to him that season, according to data compiled by The Athletic's Seth Partnow. As a point of reference, Trae Young threw 92 alley-oops to Clint Capela last season, Luka Don?i? threw 64 to Dwight Powell and Marcus Smart threw 41 to Rob Williams.

That proved to be the case with Gobert as well. The two of them never appeared to get on the same page on offense this season, with Russell throwing just 13 alley-oops to him in 54 games. Conley, meanwhile, completed 25, 39 and 51 lobs to Gobert during their three seasons in Utah.[/indent]


And, of course, there is this observation which is what turned so many of us off, despite his hot shooting streak:

[indent] Russell has a much higher ceiling as a scorer than Conley, but he also has a lower floor. When he is not engaged defensively, opponents blow right by him for layups in transition, grab rebounds while he watches and hit open 3s while he is slow to close out.[/indent]

Bye, Dlo. Don't let the door hit you on the way out!

60WinTim wrote:Jonny K wrote an in-depth article on the trade:

https://theathletic.com/4169502/2023/02/09/dangelo-russell-trade-mike-conley-timberwolves/

Okay, now I am just kind of pissed. Good riddance to Dlo. I now believe that his departure erased a cloud of tension that was hanging over the team. Maybe that's why we had a barrage of made 3-pointers last night!

[indent] Russell did not have that patience with Gobert this season. When he's not catching lobs for dunks, Gobert has an awkward aesthetic around the basket. It can lead to ugly missed layups, wild runners and fumbled passes. The lack of fluidity frustrated Russell. He didn't hide his displeasure from teammates or opponents, who heard him lamenting Gobert's offensive shortcomings during games. It was part of a messy acclimation process for a team being asked to play a completely different style than the one that got them to the playoffs last year.[/indent]


One of the selling points for keeping Dlo after the Gobert trade was the potential for lob passes, like DLo's days with Allen in Brooklyn. I don't remember who was the chief seller on that point, but here's this:

[indent] While Russell is a gifted passer, the Timberwolves took for granted that the lobs would come easy to the pair. The lob simply wasn't as big of a part of Russell's pick-and-roll approach as one might believe with a passer of his talent level. For all of the success Russell had with Allen in Brooklyn, he only completed 15 alley-oop passes to him that season, according to data compiled by The Athletic's Seth Partnow. As a point of reference, Trae Young threw 92 alley-oops to Clint Capela last season, Luka Don?i? threw 64 to Dwight Powell and Marcus Smart threw 41 to Rob Williams.

That proved to be the case with Gobert as well. The two of them never appeared to get on the same page on offense this season, with Russell throwing just 13 alley-oops to him in 54 games. Conley, meanwhile, completed 25, 39 and 51 lobs to Gobert during their three seasons in Utah.[/indent]



Tim, I haven't read the article yet, but I will (I'm a big Jon K fan). I have always thought of DLo as at least a neutral locker room presence, but in the past two weeks, Jon K has made some mysterious comments about him...mostly on the Berreiro show. Jon was cautious with his words, but he was clearly hinting at some negative undercurrents in the room. Last night was just one game, but an optimist certainly could make some knee jerk observations about it!

Camden wrote:We're painting D'Angelo Russell as a locker room cancer now, huh? Interesting... Does he harm puppies and assault the elderly too?