This is why we wait ten games before calling someone a bust. Before ten games elapses, applying the bust label to someone just doesn’t make any sense. There is a certain adjustment period that must be granted to young players.
After that period elapses, though, the NBA punditry can go to town. The minute the rookie plays in that eleventh game, the player they are going to be is determined forever and can not be changed. Ever. Kind of harsh, but that’s the way the world works, rook, so you’d better get used to it.
D’Angelo Russell is quickly approaching that magical limit. He has shown he can score a bit; that’s good, since no one really wants a non-scoring PG. But can he pass? No one really wants a non-passing PG either, unless they can be turned into a SG.
He’d do well to figure it out quick, since he’s only got five games left to determine his NBA fate.