Chris Finch immediately got up from his bench and pointed to Jordan McLaughlin. D’Angelo Russell had just attempted a high-risk, backdoor pass to Karl-Anthony Towns, intercepted by Desmond Bane. A few seconds earlier, the Wolves leader had tried to go in front of Tyus Jones but he had stolen the leather on the way.
Five minutes from the end of this decisive Game 6 against Memphis, the Minnesota coach decided to do without his titular leader (7 points and 4 assists) to prefer his replacement, more efficient in this meeting (9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists).
When D’Angelo Russell was asked during his exit interview if he enjoyed watching the end of the game from his bench, his response was: ” No not at all. » « Right now you want to do your job, don’t you? “, he continues with a yellow smile, addressing the journalist. ” Of course I want to be on the pitch. »
40 million dollars a season?
On the whole of the series, if he played less than Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns (37 minutes both), the leader will not be able to complain about his average playing time. Nearly 33 minutes is significant, especially for a player who has only shot 12 points on average, with 33% success, and 7 assists.
A poor performance that falls badly for him who will begin his last year of contract (31.4 million dollars) but is likely to be offered an extension this summer.
« I don’t like to talk about itsweeps the former All-Star, who had explained before this season his intention to play as if he was playing his last year of contract. It often comes back to haunt you. There’s nothing more I can do to show off my worth. I’d rather not worry about that until the time comes. »
The Star Tribune notes that he will be eligible for an extension of up to five years, earning an annual salary of around $40 million. This amount seems astronomical today and all the more complicated to offer since Wolves can also extend Karl-Anthony Towns this summer. And that Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels could also see their contract evolve upwards.
An alchemy to be found with the “KAT”
It’s hard to determine his place in the franchise’s priorities since the person who brought him to Minnesota, former manager Gersson Rosas, is no longer there.
« We still think it’s a good choice.”assures Chris Finch on his leader. “His qualities, his sense of the game, all that has not changed. We just have to find different configurations to bring out these elements. I could have done better by trying to fit him into the series a bit more with some systems for him, maybe without the ball. »
“Simple” failed series, or deeper limits? The leader admits, for example, that his understanding with his interior and great friend could have been better.
« To be honest, it was difficult. We’re such big fans of each other that we found a way to make it work in times when we probably didn’t have the automatisms because we didn’t play together as much as we imagined. »
For his part, the vice-president of the franchise, Sachin Gupta, believes that the Wolves do not need ” significant changes » in the workforce to do even better next season. According to him, D’Angelo Russell ” played an important role in our success, and not just offensively. I think he has also made great progress in defense, with the new scheme put in place by the coach. He really played to his strengths. We wouldn’t be here without his contribution. »
| D’Angelo Russell | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saison | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2015-16 | LAL | 80 | 28 | 41.0 | 35.1 | 73.7 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 13.2 |
| 2016-17 | LAL | 63 | 29 | 40.5 | 35.2 | 78.2 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 15.6 |
| 2017-18 | BRK | 48 | 26 | 41.4 | 32.4 | 74.0 | 0.6 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 15.5 |
| 2018-19 | BRK | 81 | 30 | 43.4 | 36.9 | 78.0 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 7.0 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 21.1 |
| 2019-20 * | All Teams | 45 | 32 | 42.6 | 36.7 | 80.9 | 0.4 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 6.3 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 23.1 |
| 2019-20 * | GOS | 33 | 32 | 43.0 | 37.4 | 78.5 | 0.4 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 6.2 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 23.6 |
| 2019-20 * | MIN | 12 | 33 | 41.2 | 34.5 | 87.3 | 0.3 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 6.6 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 3.8 | 0.3 | 21.7 |
| 2020-21 | MIN | 42 | 29 | 43.1 | 38.7 | 76.5 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 5.8 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 19.0 |
| 2021-22 | MIN | 65 | 32 | 41.1 | 34.0 | 82.5 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 7.1 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 18.1 |
| Total | 424 | 29 | 42.0 | 35.6 | 78.1 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 5.6 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 17.7 | |
