Will Acquisition of D'Angelo Russell Lead Brooklyn Nets to Deal Jeremy Lin?
Nets acquired Russell in pre-draft day trade with the Los Angeles Lakers
NBA fans are still trying to sort out the chaos brought about by draft night. But even before this annual event took place, things were already changing around the league, with the Brooklyn Nets among the affected teams.
For those who may have missed it, the Nets struck a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers just ahead of the NBA Draft.
The deal, as reported by The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski, involved the Nets sending center Brook Lopez and the 27th pick in the draft to the Lakers in exchange for big man Timofey Mozgov and guard D'Angelo Russell.
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That deal is now official and the Lakers then used that pick to select Kyle Kuzma out of the University of Utah.
Interesting as the trade may be for the Lakers on how it may affect their long-terms plans, it also figures to change things quite significantly for the Nets, particularly when it comes to their backcourt alignment.
Russell is a former high draft pick, the likes of which the Nets have been unable to get a hold of despite being one of the worst teams in the NBA.
Barring injury, Russell will get numerous opportunities to show that he can live up to his potential, and that may impact what happens to one of the guards already on the team.
Last offseason, the Nets signed guard Jeremy Lin to be one of their primary playmakers. But with Russell in town, it is unclear if his role may have to change.
There is only one basketball to be moved around on offense and both Lin and Russell do their best work when they are allowed to orchestrate the plays.
For his part though, Lin has expressed confidence that he and Russell will be able to play well together.
Speaking recently to The New York Post, Lin said: "I'm excited to share the backcourt with him. I've already reached out to him. We've texted a bit, so it should be cool."
Lin added, "We're definitely not the same player. We're definitely very different, and that's what's going to make it work."
With two years remaining on Lin's current contract, he, Russell and the Nets may be best served to make this backcourt pairing work, though whether it will remains to be seen.
More news about the latest NBA trade rumors should be made available soon.
