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The Minnesota Timberwolves are intensifying their pursuit of Golden State Warriors G D’Angelo Russell, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Thursday. This coming after the T-Wolves traded PG Jeff Teague and G Treveon Graham to the Atlanta Hawks.
Story with @JonKrawczynski: Minnesota is intensifying its pursuit of Warriors star D’Angelo Russell. Where those talks stand and more on @TheAthleticNBA: https://t.co/wE13kbw16H
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 16, 2020
The Timberwolves have long been linked to Russell and the team believes that pairing the young guard with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins will give Minnesota a legit shot at contending. Apparently talks between the two teams in terms of Russell haven’t really picked up any traction, per Shams. The Warriors have also reportedly stated that they intend to hold onto Russell, at least until the offseason to see where their draft position is after the lottery.
The Timberwolves would also have to do some more work to make a trade for Russell fit. Minnesota has plenty of money tied up in Towns and Wiggins, both on max contracts. Russell is also on a similar max contract worth $27.2 million this season, which goes up slightly over the next three seasons. Robert Covington would also need to be moved out; he’s making $11 million this season and is signed for two more seasons.
If the T-Wolves can clear the space and package the right assets to Golden State, maybe they can pry away Russell this season. But I think the more likely scenario is Russell finishes the season with the Dubs and is potentially dealt prior to or at the 2020 NBA Draft.