SALT LAKE CITY — The last time D’Angelo Russell was in Utah, he hobbled off the Vivint Smart Home Arena court with a knee injury that required surgery. It cost him two months, and the Nets finished near the league cellar again.
But it also gave Russell the motivation — and the blueprint — for a workaholic summer that changed his career.
Russell returns Saturday as a newly minted All-Star, turning in a career season in a contract year. And he’s been so busy leading the Nets’ playoff push — they are in sixth place in the East — he hasn’t even thought about how far he’s come.