The Nets’ deal for D’Angelo Russell came with questions: Will he fit? Will he work? And can he lead?
Both Russell and incumbent point guard Jeremy Lin insist the first isn’t a problem.
And the young newcomer has gone out of his way to try to show the other two questions won’t be an issue. He had late-night workouts his first three days in town, and he prodded Caris LeVert to join him.
“I got a lot of young fans that I try to show support to, and they like to see that type of stuff,’’ Russell said. “That’s really where I’m at at that time of the night. I’m not anywhere else. Just try to get out there and show a little support.”
After arriving in New York on Saturday, Russell quickly found his way to the Nets practice facility for late-night workouts Saturday and Sunday.
At Monday’s press conference, he casually added, “Caris was supposed to be there, but he wasn’t.” But when Russell hit the gym for a third straight night, LeVert was there — along with Carmelo Anthony’s personal trainer, Chris Brickley, and the Nets’ new assistant for player development, Ryan Forehan-Kelly.
“I’m sure he has a chip on his shoulder, as we all do. We won 20 games,’’ Kenny Atkinson said. “We know we have a long way to go, but I think he feels the sense of urgency we have.”
It would be easy to see why Russell would have a chip on both shoulders. It also is easy to see why the Nets believe in him, after watching him torch them for 39 points as a rookie and another 32 last season. But just what kind of player are they getting?
“His No. 1 asset was his vision and how well he passed the ball. That excites me, being a ball-movement team,’’ Atkinson said. “He’s a high-skill player. He can make shots. He can hurt you two ways. He can hurt you coming off the ball and off pin-downs and screens, but he’s also really good in the pick-and-roll, shooting the ball. He’s a guy who fits the way we play.”
Russell isn’t an elite athlete, so he won’t play above the rim or be an elite dunker. But he can make scoring look easy on the catch-and-shoot, tweaking his jumper to have a lower, quicker release. His solid handle and feel should let him complement Lin, even nominally playing 2-guard.
“He’s established in this league, and I’m working to get there. I know I’ll learn from him and vice versa,’’ Russell said. “I definitely want to embrace being on defense. The attitude of wanting to play defense can change your whole perspective. That is really my main focus right now.”
It needs to be. His 113 defensive rating was 402nd of 486 players catalogued by Basketball Reference. His defensive box plus-minus ranked 366th. Though his pick-and-roll defense isn’t bad, his physicality and team defense need work.
“We’ve got to get him better defensively. Physically he’s got a ways to go,” Atkinson said. “He’s a 21-year-old guy. We have the best performance team in the league — getting in the weight room taking care of his body and really taking another step there is going to be important in his development.
“His body has to develop. He’s got to make a jump there, and we’re going to push him to play better on the defensive end. … Physical development is part of it, getting stronger. It’s hard in this league when you’re not physically developed totally to be a great defensive player. He has the IQ, he’s got really good positioning. We did it with a team concept this year, and we need to push him to buy in.”