Russell struggled to stay healthy in his second season, with knee and calf injuries limiting him to just 62 games with the Lakers. When he was on the court, he averaged 28.7 minutes as a starter, which was nearly identical to his playing time as a rookie. He saw some growth as both a scorer and a distributor, going from 13.2 points and 3.3 assists per game in 2015-16, to 15.6 and 4.8, respectively. Russell also essentially matched his shooting percentages from a year prior with a 40.5 percent mark from the field and 35.2 percent from deep, making him a capable three-point threat (2.1 3PM per game) at the point guard position. However, with the Lakers planning to go all in during free agency in the summer of 2018, they needed to shed some bad contracts and ended up shipping Russell, along with Timofey Mozgov's disastrous contract, to the Nets in exchange for Brook Lopez and the 27th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. The trade could put Russell in position for a breakout season. While coach Kenny Atkinson maintains that he doesn't know who will start at point guard, Russell should get every opportunity to take that spot as a former No. 2 overall pick. He'll have to battle with Jeremy Lin, among others, for rights to a starting job, although the Nets could potentially experiment with a combination of Russell and Lin together, depending on where they end up playing fellow newcomers Allen Crabbe and DeMarre Carroll. Either way, Russell should become one of the Nets' higher upside players on the offensive end, so look for a potential uptick in usage, as well as scoring. Strong on both ends of the court -- he averaged 1.4 steals per game last season -- Russell's expectation of having a more featured role should translate to boosted value across the board.

Had it not been for a well document Snapchat snafu, Russell’s rookie season may have been viewed in a much different light. Last year’s No. 2 overall pick struggled initially to gain favor in the eyes of former coach Byron Scott, but ended the season on a strong note, starting the final 26 contests and averaging 15.4 points per game while knocking down 39.2 percent of his three-pointers over that span. For the season, Russell posted averages of 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals to go with 41 percent shooting from the field and 35.1 percent from distance. For a player of Russell’s repute, the numbers weren’t exactly eye-popping, but the situation in Los Angeles was far from ideal. With Luke Walton taking over for Scott and Kobe Bryant in retirement, Russell will have much more freedom offensively. That should mean higher usage and more overall playing time in what’s expected to be a higher-tempo system. The 20-year-old remains a bit of a risky commodity given his youth and the lack of proven talent around him, but the Lakers are depending on Russell to develop into a future franchise cornerstone, so he’ll be given every opportunity to succeed.

The Lakers pulled a little bit of a surprise back in June, when they went with Russell, the point guard out of Ohio State at number two in the NBA Draft, over Jahlil Okafor, who was the favorite to head out to Los Angeles. But Russell is in L.A. now, and presumptively, part of the backcourt of the future for this great franchise. In his only season with the Buckeyes, Russell averaged 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.3 blocks, and 2.7 three-pointers in 34 minutes per game in his 35 games. He was also an extremely efficient shooter, hitting 45 percent of his field goal attempts, including a tremendous 41 percent from three-point range. Russell was also able to knock down 76 percent of his free-throw attempts. In the 2015 NBA Summer League, however, Russell struggled, averaging 11.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.2 blocks and 0.4 three-pointers in 30 minutes, shooting an abysmal 38 percent from field including just 12 percent from beyond the arc. Russell may find the going tough early on, with Jordan Clarkson, Kobe Bryant, Nick Young, and Lou Williams all pushing for minutes in the backcourt, but if he can get sufficient minutes, the rookie could be a nice fantasy option.