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The Brooklyn Nets have not made a move since free-agency began on Sunday at 6 PM ET despite the fact that they should be on the hunt for young players and draft picks. While Brooklyn has not added any free-agents as of this writing, there is a possibility of them reuniting with a former Net.
Per insider Anthony F. Irwin of Lakers Daily, the Los Angeles Lakers have spoken with the Nets about their “assortment of wings” which most likely includes forwards Dorian Finney-Smith and Cam Johnson. Irwin also wrote on X that the Nets would “welcome a reunion” with D’Angelo Russell now that he is on an expiring contract.
Russell is an interesting possibility for Brooklyn given that while he doesn’t fit the Nets’ current timeline at 28 years old, he is someone who could have a positive impact on Cam Thomas as he goes into the last season of his rookie contract. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported on June 29 that Russell opted in to his $18.7 million player option for the 2024-25 season with the intention of staying in Los Angeles and playing for newly-hired head coach JJ Redick.
However, since Russell opted in to his player option, the reports have been indicating that the Lakers are intending to use Russell as a trade chip in order to entire a team (possibly Brooklyn) to give them a player or two that can help Los Angeles compete for a championship. Russell would be the kind of player that the Nets could go after given that he is on an expiring deal and that would give them more cap space for the 2025 summer.
Since a trade would have to happen to bring Russell to Brooklyn, it’s possible that the Nets could trade Finney-Smith or Johnson to the Lakers if Los Angeles strikes out on trying to get that third player (like Klay Thompson) in free-agency. With Brooklyn heading into a full-scale rebuild that will most likely make them one of the worst teams in the NBA next season, a reunion with Russell could be a feel-good story for Nets fans that cheered for him while he was wearing their jersey.
Looks like a move could be made to bring D’Angelo Russell back to the Nets. This may depend on if the Lakers are able to get one of the targets that LeBron James is willing to take a pay cut for. If not, the Lakers may need to keep Russell if they want to compete for a title. https://t.co/Q5mooziJHq
— Sharif Phillips-Keaton (@SharifKeaton) July 1, 2024