The deal moves the Wolves $2M further away from the tax line, but they were $7.9M below that line already – it’s hard to construct a trade where that ends up mattering. Which is where we get to the more specific opportunity cost involving Russell. If anything, Minnesota reduced its flexibility in this regard. Teague’s $19M contract could be aggregated with others as a salary match, which potentially matters quite a bit if there happens to be a certain player who makes $27.5M that you want to acquire. However, Crabbe’s $18.5M cannot be aggregated. A deal of Teague and Covington for Russell and Kevon Looney, for instance, seemed highly plausible (with draft picks thrown in). That is no longer on the table; now the only other contract they could pair with Covington’s in such a trade is the much less desirable one of Gorgui Dieng.
D'Angelo Russell Rumors
All NBA Players
Position: G
Born: 02/23/96
Height: 6-4 / 1.93
Weight:193 lbs. / 87.5 kg.
Salary: $27,285,000
Born: 02/23/96
Height: 6-4 / 1.93
Weight:193 lbs. / 87.5 kg.
Salary: $27,285,000
Wolves to intensify D'Angelo Russell pursuit
New team president Gersson Rosas and the rest of his front office have been actively pursuing deals on a number of fronts to try to remake the roster to better fit their vision for the team moving forward, league sources told The Athletic. That includes intensifying their pursuit of Golden State Warriors guard D’Angelo Russell. Discussions have yielded no traction to this point, league sources said. So far, Golden State has been inclined to keep Russell.
The Warriors, league sources said, have to this point not been inclined to move Russell, who is filling in as the primary scorer while Steph Curry and Klay Thompson recover from injuries. If they waited until this summer, the team will no longer be hard-capped and could look to package him in a deal for a player who won’t be buried on the bench behind the two greatest shooters in league history.
Anthony Slater: D’Angelo Russell won’t play against the Clippers tonight. Will return in Memphis on Sunday.
The good news for Russell, who has battled injuries of his own this season while averaging 23.2 points, six assists and 3.4 rebounds in 22 games for the floundering Warriors? A source with knowledge of the Warriors’ thinking deems it “unlikely” that he will be moved. And for those Magic fans who have been hoping for a Gordon-for-Russell swap, another source with knowledge of the Warriors’ dealings offered a hard “no” when asked specifically about that scenario.
Ben Simmons for D'Angelo Russell?
One of the interesting possibilities I’ve heard being kicked around is Russell for Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons. The 76ers could use a point guard who can score and run the show — and shoot. Some believe the pairing of Simmons and big man Joel Embiid isn’t viable in their pursuit of a championship. Simmons, as one source told me, is probably the best player the Warriors could possibly get for Russell, just considering the needs of the Warriors and their potential trade partners.
