Behind big-city style, DAngelo Russells substance holds a key to Wolves hopes

Whether it’s the GQ photo shoots, the swagged-out fashion sense or the flamboyance on the court, there is so much about D’Angelo Russell’s aesthetic that screams Big City.

On the surface, that’s part of what made Russell’s first two stops in the NBA appear to be such good fits. The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most glamorous franchises in American sports, the birthplace of Showtime and home to Hollywood. The Brooklyn Nets are the trendy upstarts in the basketball Mecca of New York, the crossroads of culture and commerce.

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So when he was traded from one of the country’s crown jewel cities in San Francisco to icy Minnesota, it was easy to wonder if Russell would warm to a market that consistently gets the cold shoulder from NBA stars, including his own the previous summer. But those who know Russell best have always said that his style overshadows a depth and substance that cause teammates to gravitate to him.

Behind the designer shades are eyes that saw the hard times of the Park Duvalle projects in Louisville, that fell in love with blue-collar Columbus during one season at Ohio State. Look deeper at Russell, listen to him talk basketball with a coach’s precision, and it becomes easier to see why Russell was actually excited to land in Minnesota back in February. In some ways, he sees the Twin Cities as a return to his roots, to some of the fondest memories of his basketball life as a prep star in Louisville and a lottery pick in Columbus.

The way Russell sees it, setting up shop in glitzy L.A. and nonstop New York represented a much bigger leap for him than the more moderately paced life in Minneapolis.

“I’m from this,” Russell told The Athletic not long after arriving in the trade with the Warriors last season. “So to go to the other side, the big cities, that’s the adjustment. But that’s all I’ve been into. I was drafted into L.A., I got traded to New York. Those are big cities. For me to come here, this feels more at home to me, like I could settle down, raise my family and unpack my bags.”

The Timberwolves are counting on that grounded nature to key this latest iteration of a franchise that has been searching for consistent relevancy for most of its three-plus decades of existence. President of basketball operations Gersson Rosas has reconfigured the roster to revolve around Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns, two sixth-year pros with All-Star seasons on their resumes but little in the way of team success. Skeptics abound across the league, but the Wolves believe the two friends complement each other in a way that will bring out the best in their games and raise the level of play of their teammates.

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Russell is the younger of the two by a few months, but as the point guard, he runs the show. On Thursday, in his first meeting with reporters since the Wolves season was shuttered in March, Russell said he has spent the last few months watching video of Towns to prepare to play with a big man the likes of which he never has before. The celebrated pairing of Towns and Russell never manifested last season, with the two playing together in one game before Towns went down with a wrist injury. And though they’re friends, they have little experience playing together, so Russell has been studying so they can hit the ground running when team practices begin on Sunday.

There have been many a late-night texting sessions with coach Ryan Saunders, discussing how Russell can fit into the system in place and address some of the issues he has on the defensive end. And now that Ricky Rubio is returning to Minnesota, Russell has been talking to his close friend Devin Booker in Phoenix to gear up to share the backcourt with a player Booker credits for taking his game to another level.

“When you’re a young scorer in the game, you tend to make things harder for yourself at the end of games,” Russell said. “Once teams start making adjustments and start trapping or start denying and making it harder for you, you need a player like that to relieve you. I watched (Rubio) do that for Donovan (Mitchell). I watched him do that for Devin as well. I think he will be another piece for myself and Karl and a lot of the young guys. It’s just going to make the game easier.”

Insightful reads like that have quickly become expected of Russell when the conversation turns to basketball nerdery. He often talks about watching games to pick up tendencies of teammates and opponents and intricately dissects what he’s seeing. Just listen to him talk about all of the things on his mind as he contemplates playing alongside Rubio and how that will trickle to the rest of the team.

“I’ve never played with nobody at his caliber, somebody that brings what he brings to the game at (point guard),” Russell said. “And then just our whole dynamic as a team, I’ve never been in this position, where you have a big that can just control the whole game. And then you have somebody like Rick that is used to controlling the whole game. And playing along someone who can score and still make plays, that’s not foreign for him. But for me it is, because I’ve never had that dynamic.

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“And then just trusting the coaching staff to put the right system around us that will help each player elevate throughout the season. So we just gotta continue to get better and trust the system. I think the sky’s the limit.”

Russell knows there will be hurdles to overcome, especially early in the season as the team returns from nine months away, working to incorporate new faces like Rubio and rookie Anthony Edwards while also reacquainting with the teammates who were already here. Russell spent just over a month with the organization before things were shut down, and he’s only really had a mini-training camp earlier in the fall with teammates during an interminable hiatus. But he did his best to continue forging connections to the organization while the lights were off. He worked out with several teammates, including forward Jarred Vanderbilt.

“I think the organization does a great job of giving that family environment for everybody that comes to Minnesota, in general,” Russell said. “So I stayed in touch with a lot of the guys, a lot of the young players that were here during all those trades and all those moves. It’s new and it’s tough for a lot of young players, so just trying to be one of those guys to make it easier for each of the guys and understand that it’s a part of the process of being where we want to be.”

It is still relatively new for Russell, too. He spoke in March about being excited to finally have an organization fully committed to him, a place that he looked forward to settling down and staying for a while after being traded three times in the previous three years.

Russell’s brother, Antonio, believes the transition from some of the most well-known cities in the world to Minneapolis will be a smooth one because of the area’s similarity to Louisville and Columbus.

“I think it made him who he is,” Antonio said in March. “He has the Louisville tattoo on his arm. He will always remember being from a small city. I think we have an advantage being from small towns over big towns. We appreciate it.” 

He also has at least two teammates who will sing the area’s praises. Towns and Rubio know that Minneapolis isn’t exactly a one-stoplight town in the middle of nowhere. In non-COVID times, it is known as a vibrant food city with theater, art, sports and, when the weather allows, plenty to do outdoors.

When Russell first arrived, Towns told him that the speed of life here is good for the soul. He could go to the grocery store without being hounded by autograph seekers or paparazzi. And there isn’t the same crush of media that pack into locker rooms in the bigger markets.

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“His cards were played where he was in bigger markets where bigger stories are made and bigger lies are made,” Towns said in March. “He’s fought through that every day. In essence, he has a big-city mentality. I’m from near a big city. We know how it is. We know how quickly those big cities swallow up people. There’s nothing better than having that comfortability knowing you can be here in Minnesota and you can be who you are.”

Russell freely admitted some of his trips to Minnesota with other teams in the dead of winter gave him pause. But his initial impressions of his new home, in particular the summer lake life that is offered for a guy who loves to be out on the boat, has helped him look past the early October snowfalls. It has given him a feeling of comfort and responsibility as he prepares to start his first full season with the Wolves.

“I can help recruit. I can give my all to this organization,” he said. “I can help participate with the fans. I can help try to lure that big free agent here that can help our team make a push. I can give my two cents on how I feel about things because I know I’m going to be a part of it.”

Of course, what Russell wants more than anything, and what the Wolves want as well, is to win. They have been to one playoff series since 2004 and Russell has made one playoff appearance in his first five seasons. All of the warm feelings and comfort are great building blocks right now. But if the wins don’t follow, those good vibes will sour. The Wolves have a long ways to go defensively and are facing a gauntlet in the Western Conference just to get to the 7-10 play-in games for the postseason.

Russell said he spent most of the hiatus focusing on keeping his body in shape so he was ready when the season started. He returns to Minnesota excited for what awaits and who he will be surrounded with on the court.

Before a single practice has been held, optimism reigns. Towns is back healthy and ready to go, giving Russell one of the most efficient and versatile offensive players in the game to draw some of the attention away from him on the perimeter. He has Rubio to give him a chance to slide off the ball from time to time and turn into an even more aggressive scorer. He has a young pup in No. 1 overall pick Edwards to mentor. Malik Beasley is coming back to knock down 3-pointers despite facing two felony charges stemming from a confrontation with a family parked outside his home. Russell has a young coach in Saunders who welcomes communication and input from players. Two of his beloved former teammates from a tight-knit Brooklyn team — Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (non-guaranteed deal) and rugged veteran Ed Davis — are here as well.

And he is settling in to a city that feels awfully familiar to the towns that forged his basketball identity.

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“I’ve been telling D-Lo since I first got here how much Minnesota is not what the public perception is of it,” Towns said when Russell arrived. “I’m glad now he finally sees it first hand. He sees how comfortable it is to be here.”

(Top photo: David Sherman / NBAE via Getty Images)

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