D’Angelo Russell is two months shy of his 24th birthday, but he is already well versed on all that NBA stardom can bring: the pressure, the tabloids, the trades.

Within his first four professional seasons, he went from a punchline with the Lakers to an All-Star with the Nets. Now a maximum-contract player with the Warriors, Russell has continued to shed his reputation as a knucklehead, only to once again be the subject of relentless speculation.

Since he landed with Golden State in July, Russell has heard chatter that his new team acquired him for his value as a trade chip. Such noise should only amplify when he and the rest of the Warriors’ offseason additions become eligible to be dealt Sunday. But ask Golden State executives about Russell, and they’re adamant that no decision has been reached on his future.

A number of factors make it tricky to evaluate the former second overall pick’s fit with the Warriors. The big question entering the season was how the ball-dominant Russell would coexist with Stephen Curry, but the two had only four games together before Curry suffered a broken bone in his left hand that will sideline him until at least February.

It doesn’t help that Russell has missed 12 of the Warriors’ 27 games with ankle and thumb injuries. With Russell in and out of the lineup, Golden State overhauled its offense on the fly, oscillating between its traditional motion system and an isolation-heavy approach.

“I think he’s in a good place in terms of just understanding what this thing is, knowing it’s a business and just trying to lock in on the things that he can control,” said Warriors player-development coach Theo Robertson, who works closely with Russell. “I don’t think anyone’s immune from hearing the noise, but as much as you can limit that, he’s done that.”

Russell’s per-game averages — 22.4 points, 6.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds — are All-Star caliber, which ensures that the Warriors would have plenty of suitors should they decide to make Russell available in a trade. But that probably won’t happen until at least this summer, according to team sources.

The Warriors want a larger sample size of Russell with Curry. In the four games they were together, they struggled to complement each other, prompting head coach Steve Kerr to stagger the two often. Before Curry was injured in an Oct. 30 loss to the Suns, Russell’s plus-minus rating, which measures how well his team fares when he’s on the court, was the worst in the NBA.

His defensive rating was also among the league’s worst, in large part because Curry made it difficult for Golden State to hide Russell on an opponent’s worst offensive option. The Warriors have reason to believe, however, that Russell can do better alongside Curry.

In the nine games Russell missed with a sprained right thumb, a new-look Golden State roster began to channel the pass-happy system that was a driving force behind the franchise’s recent dynasty. When Russell returned Dec. 4 in Charlotte, Kerr stuck to his motion principles, asking Russell to show he can score when he isn’t having a steady drumbeat of high pick-and-rolls called for him.

“It’s cool as long as we’re taking the right steps,” Russell said. “We’re losing, but we’re fighting and giving ourselves a chance. We can easily be winning these games and the other way around, but it is what it is.”

Though his scoring and efficiency have dipped slightly, Russell has excelled as a decoy, drawing defenses toward him and kicking out to open shooters. After the Warriors’ Dec. 6 win over the Bulls, Kerr praised Russell for freeing up space for teammates even though he scored just seven points on 2-for-8 shooting.

Golden State is hopeful Curry will return this season — these days, sometime in March seems reasonable — so it can see whether Russell, an elite spot-up shooter, will settle in as a worthy sidekick to the face of the franchise. Because a Curry-Russell backcourt will probably never be even average defensively, it must prove it can be consistently potent offensively.

If the Warriors decide that Russell isn’t a long-term fit, they should have intriguing trade scenarios. Multiple league executives told The Chronicle that Russell could fetch a first-round pick and a solid rotation player.

By waiting until the offseason to trade Russell, the Warriors could package him with a lottery pick. Golden State, which owns the NBA’s worst record at 5-22, is on track to select not worse than fifth in June’s draft.

General manager Bob Myers didn’t expect his team to finish toward the bottom of the league standings when he orchestrated a complex sign-and-trade deal with Brooklyn so the Warriors wouldn’t let Kevin Durant leave for nothing. But by landing Russell, Myers knew he was giving Golden State options as Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green navigate the back end of their prime.

That should make the substantial sacrifices the Warriors made to acquire Russell — losing Andre Iguodala, two future first-round picks, the ability to re-sign DeMarcus Cousins, Quinn Cook, Shaun Livingston and others — worth it in the end.

“This is the NBA, and we never know what’s coming, what’s happening,” Kerr said. “It’s a difficult position to be in in general. But for (Russell) in particular, it’s a strange set of circumstances. He’s handling it really well.”

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Con_Chron