Camden wrote:I'm more and more convinced that some here simply didn't watch D'Angelo Russell very much, if at all, before he was traded to Minnesota. He's always been a high-level passer. That's always been in his bag. I'm glad there's been growth in recognizing that, but it's a little late in his career.
I'll also add that the Timberwolves can't afford for Russell to shrink himself into a low usage player. Not only does he need to keep himself in rhythm, but it's his ability to score AND create opportunities for teammates that makes him an affective ball-handler. They need him to take shots and present himself as a scoring threat, which he is. Reducing him to a Tyus Jones or Lonzo Ball on that end is gross mismanagement of his individual skills and would likely have an adverse impact on the team.
By the way, his usage rate was 25.1 last season. The league average for point guards last season was 21.5. He's right where he should be given his responsibilities. Thankfully, the Timberwolves acquired an elite screen-setter and rim-roller in Rudy Gobert that will assuredly open up even more passing lanes for Russell. As long as Russell stays relatively healthy and regresses back to the three-point shooter he's been the last handful of years, especially off the catch, then he should be in line for a really good campaign. All the pieces are in place for him.
While I don't think he should be at a Tyus Jones level of usage, I do think he should be closer to a Chris Paul or Mike Conley level of usage or around 20%. I think if it's higher than that (like last year) it will be at the expense of others who are more likely to be more efficient than him. But yeah, if he has wide open floaters and mid-range jumpers created by Rudy sucking in the defense, I have no problem with him taking those shots. Same thing with catch and shoot 3's. But the fast break pull up 3s and leaning contested mid-range jumpers have to go. No need for him to take those shots anymore.
