D’Angelo Russell Is Having A Tremendous December

D’Angelo Russell has been heavily criticized this season for overall lackluster play. The guard started off the year ineffective, further compounding the issues brewing early on in Minnesota after the Timberwolves went all-in for Rudy Gobert over the summer.

However, with Karl-Anthony Towns having now missed a month, Russell has quietly put together a December worth mentioning, and, hopefully, on to keep building on.

Russell is scoring 21.6 points on a ridiculous TS% of 65.8, a number that would rank among the best perimeter scorers in the NBA, while dishing out 6.0 assists per game. The point guard’s December is flanked by the ever famous 50/40/90 slash line, and he notably looks a lot more comfortable offensively, than when he started the season.

During Russell’s first two months of the year, he was hovering around in no man’s land, scoring at a small rate of 14.4 points, and connecting on just over 42% of his total shot attempts. It was, in a word, unspectacular. Wolves fans would often voice their frustrations about the point guard on social media, often pointing to the fact that no real upgrade seems realistic, given a combination of Russell’s contract status, as well as the amount of assets the team relinquished for Gobert.

Russell is going to enter unrestricted free agency after the conclusion of this season, where it’s widely assumed he won’t be earning a similar amount as his current payday of over $31.7 million this season.

The slow start didn’t do Russell any favors in that depart, men his December could raise some eyes around the league. Needless to say, with Towns out of the lineup, Russell’s path to shots is easier, but that doesn’t mean a team couldn’t talk themselves into the idea that Russell just needed a chance, of which they may be able to provide come next year.

For the Wolves, losing Russell would be tough, even if he overall isn’t the best fit for this specific build of a team. The Wolves won’t be flush with cash during free agency, nor will they many options during the draft given their lack of available draft picks, so finding a suitable replacement won’t be easy.

Therefore, seen from a strategic point of view, it would behoove them to enter extension talks with Russell as to not lose him outright. If the two parties find common ground, they could arrange a trade at a later date, kicking that can down the road. They may not fetch a ton, but they would fetch something, which would be the point.

The Wolves may brace for Russell’s contractual demands, as he holds a lot of leverage here. Russell and his representatives are surely aware of Minnesota’s tricky financial situation, so expecting Russell and his team to squeeze the Wolves for all they can get wouldn’t be a bad strategy, while at the same time buying into the premise that a trade can come together at any point.

(Of course, Russell could decide to gamble on himself, enter free agency, and allow another team to swoop in and snatch him up, leaving the Wolves high and dry at the point guard position.)

It’s yet another sign of how easy teams can land themselves in trouble by giving up the farm for one player. The Wolves are now finding themselves in a situation where they have to buy into a so-far sample size of 11 games where Russell looks highly productive, not knowing whether that sticks or not.

For Russell, he deserves credit for doing what he’s supposed to be doing. Using this time with Towns out to remind people that he can be effective, while sporting tremendous efficiency numbers, is only going to serve him well, regardless of how the year ends, and whether or not the Wolves make the postseason.

With at least a handful of teams in need of a point guard, Russell can also help build his own market, especially if current trends continue.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.