The Minnesota Timberwolves were one of the NBA teams that made a huge splash during the offseason, acquiring Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz. The price was astronomical as Minnesota traded four first-round draft picks, one which was top-five protected, one pick swap and five players.
It was a trade that the Timberwolves felt would make them contenders in the Western Conference, but that has not yet been the case. They are 11-12 on the season as the duo of Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns has not panned out as well as they had hoped it would. Towns is now going to be sidelined for 4-6 weeks with a calf strain.
This will be a trying time for the franchise to play that long without one of their best players, but it could help the team get things on track with a more traditional lineup playing one big man in Gobert. They had better hope to figure things out because making another trade will not be easy.
Essentially all of their assets were depleted to acquire Gobert. If they are going to make a move ahead of the deadline, they will need to get creative. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Jaden McDaniels is someone that is drawing interest but the Timberwolves have turned down all offers involving him.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: D’Angelo Russell & Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
Instead, Scotto believes the most realistic trade piece that Minnesota possesses is point guard D’Angelo Russell. Russell is averaging 15.0 points, 6.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 31.5 minutes per game.
We are now four seasons removed from when Russell was an All-Star with the Brooklyn Nets, so it is fair to question whether or not he can reach that level again. The most intriguing thing that he brings to the table as a trade piece is that he has a sizable expiring contract.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: D’Angelo Russell & Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
Russell is being paid $31.3 million this season before hitting unrestricted free agency in 2023. With a contract of that size, the Timberwolves could try and flip in a deal for multiple pieces. Some draft compensation could also be included in an incoming trade package depending on how badly a team wants to move off of a specific player’s contract.
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