D’Angelo Russell, no stranger to trades, once again finds himself in fluid situation

Before the Timberwolves You swam headfirst into a huge frontcourt that stars a star Rudy Gobert And Karl-Anthony TownsMinnesota looked at ways to boost its opposite team. Yahoo Sports reported that the Timberolves explored the offseason point guard trade market. Dejounte Murray.

Another one-time All-Star ball-handler, D’Angelo Russell, has held Minnesota’s starting role ever since the Timberwolves sent Andrew Wiggins Plus the first-round selection that was Jonathan Kuminga To Golden State In a package for Russell by the 2020 trade deadline. Following a 2018 deal which shipped Russell from New York, a 2019 signing-and-trade brought Russell to the Warriors. Los Angeles Lakers Brooklyn

He is no stranger to the trade chatter that’s preceding this year’s Feb. 9 deadline. Word among league personnel of the Wolves’ openness to moving Russell has only persisted since this summer’s Murray flirtations. Russell is on the last season for his four-year, $117million agreement. Sources said that there was no progress in extending the contract with the Timberwolves during the offseason. This makes Russell an ideal trade candidate.

Minnesota would be wise to move Russell now if the team doesn’t intend to re-sign him via Bird rights at season’s end. Individual cap holds or salary placeholders allow free agents to limit the amount their teams are allowed to re-sign them for. Minnesota would not be able to inherit Russell’s salary of $31.3 million if he were to leave the Wolves on the open market. There are avenues, in that event, for the Wolves to clear upward of $21 million in room, but the scenario of Russell exiting the franchise in free agency would leave Minnesota with far less financial flexibility than if the Wolves returned a package commensurate with Russell’s salary prior to the deadline.

Russell is definitely paying attention to the gossip mill. “Yeah, it’s my life,” the seven-year veteran told Yahoo Sports. “That’s it. Just be conscious of it.” He ruffled internet feathers by apparently unfollowing the Timberwolves on Jan. 4, the same day By league executives: Russell is being swapped to another team that is performing below the preseason expectations. Miami Heat, for aging floor general Kyle Lowry.

Russell has certainly felt spurned by the NBA’s transaction tumult in the past. After becoming an All-Star with Brooklyn in 2018, Russell noticed that he was wearing Ohio State gear. Nets facilities during spring workouts after he’d learned of Brooklyn’s impending pursuit of Kyrie Irving That summer, even Nets coaches shared feelings of betrayal.

“You either take advantage of me and my ability, or f*** up the opportunity with me,” Russell told Yahoo Sports in December. “It’s as simple as that.”

As part of a response to how he is currently helping push fellow Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Russell said: “I’m an Alpha as well, you know what I mean? And I feel like I’m better than a lot of shooting guards and I’m better than a lot of point guards.”

According to Yahoo Sports sources, the Heat are interested in Russell. However, a deal for Lowry seems unlikely. Lowry is just a few months away from entering the final season of his own contract worth roughly $30 million in average annual salary, and it’s hard to imagine Wolves officials being eager to extend the aging guard another exorbitant payday when he becomes extension eligible this summer — putting Minnesota in the exact situation it faced with Russell last July.

There is not much demand for point guards with this salary range in the league. League executives are closely monitoring the situation. Los Angeles Clippers And Phoenix Suns As teams looking for backcourt upgrades before the deadline. In 2019, the Suns linked Russell to Russell, and the point guard is well-known to have a close relationship to Phoenix All Star scorer. Devin Booker.

But Russell also represents Minnesota’s most dynamic playmaker on the perimeter, while Towns is still sidelined by a calf injury. The Wolves won’t simply move Russell to move him.

Minnesota’s north star still resides in playoff contention with this wonky roster construction.