25-under-25: D’Angelo Russell at No. 12

The Step Back is rolling out its 25-under-25 list over the next few days. Follow along with our rankings of the top 25 players under the age of 25.

D’Angelo Russell comes in at No. 12 on our list of most impactful under-25-year-olds right now in the NBA.

He was taken second overall by the Lakers in 2015 to be the heir apparent to Kobe Bryant. After two seasons, a coaching change and one social media snafu, he was shipped off to Brooklyn as the prize for taking on Timofey Mozgov’s albatross contract.

Instead of the building block, superstar-in-the-making, he was traded two days before this year’s draft, where the Lakers essentially selected his replacement in Lonzo Ball. It was a compelling trade since promising, potential face-of-franchises don’t get moved often, and when they do, it’s not in a salary dump. Especially when that player just came of age to legally buy his first drink.

Did Russell get bad all of a sudden? Was his character and leadership in question because he basically broke up Nick Young’s relationship with Iggy Azalea? (Let’s be honest, though, that union was destined to fail.) It certainly didn’t help matters if L.A.’s management was on the fence at all. The cellphone malpractice tagged him with the immature label — and rightfully so — but Russell was 20 at the time. He was immature. At least he was able to realize his mistake be self-aware enough to make fun of himself.

I don’t know with 100 percent certainty why the Lakers were eager to move on from him so quickly. But here’s what I do know:

• It was probably best for everyone that Russell got dealt to Brooklyn and out of the way of the Big Baller Brand hype train. Otherwise, he (and us) would have suffered through non-stop trade speculation and endless narratives of whether or not he could coexist with Ball.
• The Nets have been abysmal, averaging about 26 wins over the past three seasons. It’s been a team mainly composed of Brook Lopez and a bunch of guys. Russell represents the best talent the Nets have had since moving to Brooklyn.
• Point guard is a notoriously slow-developing position and he’s only entering his third season at the ripe age 21.

Russell is already getting a whiff of bust talk coming in from the periphery. So let’s play a game of blind stats comparison, shall we? These stat lines are per game averages of point guards in their second seasons from the past two decades:

Can you guess which one’s Russell?

…

…

You’d be correct if you chose Player B. That is his stat line from last season. Player A is 20-year-old Tony Parker. Player C is Chauncey Billups at age 22. They all posted similar numbers and the elder two went on to have long, successful, championship-winning careers.

(But wait, what about Player D? Glad you asked. Player D is actually an approximation of my stats from my weekly rec league. In case any scouts happen to read this and are looking for mediocre talent in an unathletic 5-foot-9 frame, I’m available for the season.)

The thing that sticks out to me on that table the most is Russell’s minute load. As he steps into a larger role this season, cast to play big minutes in a leading part, he’ll see inflation across the board. Just to give an idea of what that might look like, here are his per 36 stats from last year (via Basketball-Reference):

While Russell’s impact won’t be felt the most this season from a pure win-loss perspective — the Nets still project to be pretty bad, although not as bad as most assume — he gives Brooklyn the most powerful thing a team can have: hope.

Now they have a cornerstone piece and are no longer floating around aimlessly like a life raft in the middle of the Atlantic.

Russell, however, is the linchpin to turning the Nets around. His arrival took their weakest position and turned it into their focal point. If he blossoms into the star he was supposed to be and gives Brooklyn glimmers of a thriving future, he has a shot at the Most Improved Player Award and maybe even snagging a down-ballot All-Star spot. (I mean, have you seen the East this year? It’s not out of the question).

Sure, he’s made some mistakes thus far. But mistakes tend to be the best learning experiences. A fresh start in a weak conference is his chance to hit the reset button and make good on his exorbitant potential.

In leading the vanguard of a moribund franchise’s glow up, he can have a huge effect on the league. New York loves a winner and the Knicks have been a flaming tire rolling downhill for most of the new millennium. If Brooklyn can be the next up-and-coming team, the casual fan will follow, holding the interest of the nation’s biggest city.

Next: 25-under-25 -- The best young players in the NBA

Soon the mostly-empty Barclays Center won’t just be a venue to come see an exciting visiting team roll through town. The Nets are ready to turn it around, and it’s because of D’Angelo Russell.