How Nets use DAngelo Russell could signal their plans for offseason

Nets fans should keep an eye on D’Angelo Russell for the rest of this regular season.He might be the weather vane to reveal what the team plans this offseason.Russell returned to the court — scoring 12 points and handing out four assists in 25 minutes — for Tuesday’s 127-113 loss in San Antonio after missing the prior five games with a sprained ankle.

It marked just the second time since his arrival three months ago that the Nets had their preferred backcourt, Russell and Cam Thomas, playing together.Watching the pair not known for their defense fit into a team playing hard on that end of the court should be interesting.But not nearly as interesting as what ends up happening with Russell.Nobody can say with certainty what the Nets’ offseason plans are.

They’re likely not even set, with no idea where they’re drafting or who is available in trade.But watching what happens with Russell can give some signs on whether they’re going big-game (and big-name) hunting, or extending the tank another year.After shipping out point guard Dennis Schroder on Dec.15 — the first day of the unofficial trading season — Brooklyn GM Sean Marks dealt Dorian Finney-Smith to the Lakers for Russell.

But they didn’t acquire Russell to replace Schroder’s pick-and-roll prowess, but because Russell has an expiring contract that fit into Finney-Smith’s, and Russell came with three second-round picks attached.But Russell — whose 8.7 assists per 100 possessions with the Lakers were his worst since his rookie season — has handed out a dozen per 100 since joining the Nets, the best in his career by a huge margin.With the ball in his hands and a leadership role, Russell is believed to have told those around him he wants to stay.He scored 12 with four assists in Tuesday’s loss.And despite the rebuild, the Nets keeping him around seems a lot more likely than it did when he first arrived three months ago.Yes, the Nets have the most cap space in the league at over $60 m...