The Timberwolves' dogged pursuit of D'Angelo Russell came to fruition on Thursday, when they finally landed him in a trade with the Warriors.
While there's little doubt he will fit in well running the Wolves' offense in many ways, let's take a closer look at his offensive game for areas in which he might need to adjust.
First take: Michael Rand
Russell shot a strong percentage (37.4) on three-pointers this year on an absurd 9.8 attempts per game with the Warriors. And his true shooting percentage — which takes into account free throws and the value of threes — has gradually moved up each of the past three seasons.
His biggest adjustment with the Wolves, though, will probably come from shot values. A full 30% of his shot attempts this season, per Basketball Reference, have come from either 10-16 feet or 16 feet to the three-point line. The Wolves as a team have worked to eliminate those inefficient shots this year, taking just a combined 10% of their overall attempts from those distances.
Chris Hine: But if you can manage to hit them at a high rate, are they all that inefficient? Russell is shooting 55% from 16 feet to the three-point line.
That's well above his career 42% average from that distance, so perhaps there's some regression coming along those lines.
I'm struck by the fact that he only takes 7% of shots this season around the rim. Now, some of that may be a product of how Golden State wants to play — they don't really try to discourage their players from taking midrange shots — so there may have to be a little give and take on the part of Russell and the Wolves with where they want him to shoot vs. where he feels most comfortable shooting.
