Report: Warriors likely to wait until summer to move D’Angelo Russell

The Golden State Warriors are unlikely to deal guard D’Angelo Russell during the season, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Russell was acquired during this offseason by the Warriors in a complicated sign-and-trade deal with the Brooklyn Nets. The contract is a max deal for four years and worth $117.32 million, per basketball-reference.

Because of the trade, the Warriors aren’t allowed to go over the luxury tax this season. So they really have no cap flexibility in a trade and don’t have any incentive to rush dealing Russell. For one, they’re on track to have a very good shot at the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. If they wait until the summer to deal Russell, they could package him with the lottery pick for an All-Star, potentially top 10-15 player.

We already know the Minnesota Timberwolves wanted Russell during the offseason. Does this open up the possibility that the Dubs could deal him to Minnesota for a huge haul? Perhaps, but the trade likely would have to exclude Karl-Anthony Towns, right? We’ll see.