D’Angelo Russell would love to be back in Brooklyn. But would Brooklyn love to have Russell back?
That’s the multimillion-dollar question.
The veteran point guard is headed into unrestricted free agency for the first time, but doing it in a summer where cap space is hard to come by.
“I don’t think it’s in my control, to be honest,” Russell told The Post on Saturday. “I’ve been on the team before where everybody was free agents, too. So they’ve got the leverage, they’ve got the cards. If they decide to bring me back, cool. If not, we’ll figure it out.”
Russell said he hopes to be back with the Nets.
“Hope? Yeah. (But) I just want to be in the NBA,” Russell said before the Nets’ 115-113 loss to the Celtics at Barclays Center. “I don’t think I’ve ever been a free agent. I look back on it, I’ve never been. For me, it’s a weird feeling, but see how it goes. I signed an extension with the Lakers, two years — one-plus-one, player option. I just never hit (free agency). So I’m excited to see.”
The point guard, who had 11 points and eight assists in Saturday’s loss, is in the final season of a two-year, $36 million deal he signed with the Lakers in 2023.
Brooklyn traded Dorian Finney-Smith on Dec. 29 for Russell and three second-round draft picks.
First the Nets lost their best scorer. Then they lost a heartbreaker Saturday to basketball’s best team.
