Brooklyn Nets: D’Angelo Russell staying is inevitable

Five teams have shown interest in D’Angelo Russell as a free agent. The Brooklyn Nets relationship with their point guard is too strong to break up.

D’Angelo Russell and the Brooklyn Nets are coming off a historic year for the franchise. Led by their 23-year-old all-star, the Nets went back to the playoffs for the first time since 2014-15 and looked good doing it. Although getting bounced in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers, the Nets proved through close games and grit that they can hang with the best of ‘em. No matter how stacked the opposing roster may be.

This is why even though the Utah Jazz, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Orlando Magic all want Russell in free agency, it will ultimately be the Brooklyn black and white that the point guard will don, come next season’s opening tip.

Russell has already said that he wants to be in Brooklyn. Sticking around is his preferred destination for 2019-20 and beyond. So why is this even a conversation? Well as he said, “It’s a business, too”. He understands that there is a strong chance that the disgruntled Kyrie Irving could wind up in Brooklyn just as easily as Russell could stay. It’s not fair for him to have to go through the worry of where he’ll play.

In my mind, this should’ve already been a vocal agreement to re-sign and maybe they’ve already had those talks in private. If the Brooklyn Nets settle for anyone else besides Russell and let him walk to another team, it’s going to be a detrimental mistake for the organization regardless of the point guard they get to replace him. This is why I feel like it’s a match made in heaven for this player-team partnership and it’ll likely stay that way for the rest of his career.