Warriors Acquire D'Angelo Russell From Nets in Sign-and-Trade Deal

Just when you thought the Warriors were finally going back to being a normal NBA team, a Shams slam drops that makes things all crazy again.

Per Mr. Charania, Golden State is close to acquiring Brooklyn Nets All-Star and restricted free agent D'Angelo Russell via sign-and-trade. Yes, read that again.

Warriors are on verge of acquiring Russell, Treveon Graham and Shabazz Napier from Brooklyn, league sources said. https://t.co/4HefUBSNQA
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2019

Wow. I've got nothing.

So, what are the Dubs giving up in order to land D-Lo? They could be offering a package of picks, perhaps similar to the kind of framework the Pacers put together with the Bucks to land Malcolm Brogdon, who was likewise hitting restricted free agency.

Of course, this could also be the method by which Kevin Durant gets to Brooklyn. In any event, Woj stepped up and made this thing official, including some juicy contract terms: can you say four years and the $117 million max?

Golden State and Brooklyn have agreed on a sign-and-trade, sending D’Angelo Russell to the Warriors on a four-year, $117M maximum contract, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2019

Russell and Steph Curry could make for a truly exciting combination next year. The Nets are set at point guard now that Kyrie Irving is headed to Kings County, so it's only natural that they move on from Russell-- it's just surprising, even jarring to consider Golden State being the beneficiary here.

If Golden State moves every single thing other than Curry, maxed Klay, Draymond, and Andre, they'd have $30.2m below the hard cap. Russell's max would be $27.3m. https://t.co/IUmPjjjbt4
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) July 1, 2019

Not a bad consolation for losing KD. After all, D-Lo isn't about to miss the entire 2019-20 season with a major injury.