D’Angelo Russell crawled through the early stages of the 2020-21 season like a caterpillar through mud, and how quickly the narrative around him twisted. From the player that Minnesota Timberwolves fans clambered for heading into the 2019 free agency period and the 2020 trade deadline to the player that was scorned throughout the fan base for his inability to pull the MASH unit Wolves out of the early-season hole they dug for themselves.
Then, just as Karl-Anthony Towns was returning from a fractured wrist and a bout with COVID-19, Russell was sidelined with a knee injury, one that would see him undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies that had been the root of the problem.