1. He Needs the Ball

D’Angelo Russell was given the reigns in Brooklyn last year, with a 31.9 percent usage rate that was sixth-highest in the league. Due in most part to Curry and Thompson being out, his usage rate was the same over 33 games with the Warriors this year.

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said it himself in the wake of the trade, pointing to how adding a ball-dominant guard to go with Curry and Thompson was not going to be a fit when all are healthy next season.

It’s worth noting, it worked with Durant as a ball-dominant player in his own way, but Curry notably ceded touches and shots to make that work.

So unless Russell was going to transform into someone who can operate without the ball a lot, even with solid catch and shoot and spot up shooting numbers to suggest he could, he was never going to stick with the Warriors for more than one season as Thompson worked his way back from a torn ACL.

An opportunity to move Russell came at the trade deadline, and Golden State struck.