Nets Notes: Russell, Thomas, Hayes

D’Angelo Russell reportedly would like to extend his second stint with Brooklyn, a team he’s spent 152 games with during his career. He’s on an expiring $18.7MM contract and spoke about his impending free agency with the New York Post’s Brian Lewis.

“I don’t think it’s in my control, to be honest,” Russell said. “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.”

Since being traded to the Nets ahead of this year’s deadline, he’s averaging 13.3 points and 5.7 assists. Brooklyn saw Russell blossom into an All-Star in his age-22 season in 2018/19, and that year proved to be memorable for Brooklyn.

“Hope? Yeah. [But] I just want to be in the NBA,” Russell said. “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.”

We have more on the Nets:

• Like Russell, Cam Thomas is also set to be a free agent this summer, though he’ll be a restricted free agent. “It’s a business, but at the end of the day,” Thomas said, per HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. “I would love to be back and get that straightened out to keep playing in front of the fans and keep building the relationships I’ve built here because I was drafted here.”
• Thomas is averaging 24.0 points and 3.8 assists this season while shooting 34.9% on 7.8 three-point attempts per game. However, he’s been limited to just 25 games this season. Head coach Jordi Fernandez discussed Thomas’s summer and what the plan is for him moving forward, per Scotto (Twitter link). “Cam’s been great for the group,” Fernandez said. “He’s worked every single day. He’s built relationships. We all know his superpower of being a very good scorer. The way we played through him, I thought the team was playing at a high level. We’ll go through the summer together. We have a plan in place. The plan is going to be a team that wins consistently, and we’re going to get there together.“
• Killian Hayes rejoined the Nets’ G League affiliate in Long Island after not getting a second 10-day from Brooklyn earlier this month (though that could still be an option down the line). As Scott Mitchell of NetsDaily observes, Hayes had a career game on Friday, scoring a professional career-high 38 points along with eight threes. Even though he’s playing for Brooklyn’s affiliate, he’s eligible to sign with any team.