https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2841172-dangelo-russell-rumors-highly-unlikely-nets-retain-pg-if-kyrie-irving-signsD'Angelo Russell's time with the Brooklyn Nets could be coming to an end if Kyrie Irving signs with the team in free agency.
Per SNY.tv's Ian Begley, Russell is "highly unlikely" to re-sign if Irving comes to Brooklyn.
Russell figures to have plenty of suitors if the Nets don't retain him. Begley cited the Indiana Pacers as being high on the All-Star point guard.
Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe noted the Boston Celtics don't feel confident about their chances to re-sign Irving.
Per ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski, the six-time All-Star is "intensely interested" in the Nets, with the New York Knicks also expected to be in the mix.
Brooklyn seems poised for a major offseason overhaul with the potential for two max slots if they let Russell walk in restricted free agency.
If the Nets get Irving, it makes little sense for them to bring back Russell because the two play the same position and need to control the ball. The Nets roster is already overloaded with ball-dominant guards under long-term contracts such as Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert.
Russell figures to attract a lot of attention from teams in need of a point guard. The 23-year-old was named to his first All-Star team last season and averaged career highs with 21.1 points and 7.0 assists in 81 games to help the Nets reach the playoffs for the first time in three years.
So - it looks like Brooklyn will either pair Kyrie with another star or sign Kyrie by himself.
Given this development - and given that Russell could very well be bound to a similarly competitive team in Indiana anyways - if Kyrie does go there why not offer Brooklyn some draft compensation for a double sign-and-trade with him and Kyrie? Hell, even offering the Memphis pick to do the double sign-and-trade would make sense, as Russell is a 23 year old All-Star who would fit perfectly in Boston as the long-term point guard. If you pair a Russell addition with an AD trade (assuming Tatum and Smart out for AD), that would leave a really good starting lineup of Russell, Brown, Hayward, Horford, and AD, which is a title contender.
Now some may argue that Brooklyn would not want to benefit a fellow Eastern Conference rival in this way, especially a divisional rival; however, if Russell is likely to end up in Indiana anyways - which would be a similarly difficult rival for them - and they are letting him walk for nothing, why wouldn't they try to benefit from Russell leaving and get compensated anyways?
So what do you say - if Kyrie indicates that he's leaving for Brooklyn, would you engage them on a double sign-and-trade by offering some draft compensation, even up to the Memphis pick?
Topic: Report: Nets "Highly Unlikely" to Resign Russell if They Get Kyrie; Opportunity? (Read 11077 times)