The
Golden State Warriors mitigated somewhat the loss of
Kevin Durant to the
Brooklyn Nets by reaching a deal to acquire guard D’Angelo Russell, two people with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.
The people requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly until the deal is official.
In the sign-and-trade agreement, Russell will go to the Warriors on a four-year, $117 million deal. To make the trade for Russell work within the confines of the salary cap, the Warriors had to unload salary, so they will trade
Andre Iguodala to the
Memphis Grizzlies along with future first-round picks.
The Warriors are another team re-tooling on the fly. Now without Durant, they also will be without Klay Thompson for a majority, if not all, of next season as he recovers from a torn ACL sustained in Game 6 of the
NBA Finals against Toronto.
At 6-5, Russell can play either guard spot, and he is coming off his best season in which he was an All-Star for the first time. With Brooklyn in 2018-19, Russell averaged 21.1 points, 7.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds and shot 43.4% from the field and 36.9% on 3-pointers.
The Russell move also heightens the stakes for the Los Angeles Lakers in their pursuit of free agent Kawhi Leonard. The Lakers had Russell as a potential back-up plan if they didn’t get Leonard. With Russell off the table, if the Lakers don’t get Leonard, they will not get another star in free agency to add alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.