Getty The Nets could reunite with their former All-Star.
The Brooklyn Nets are looking to upgrade their roster on the fly to compete for a championship, and reuniting with a former All-Star talent could be the way to do it.
The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reports the Minnesota Timberwolves are open to moving guard D’Angelo Russell.
This news comes from a mock draft where the Wolves are linked to Kentucky’s TyTy Washington Jr.
“D’Angelo Russell is being shopped around, so it makes sense for the Timberwolves to target a shot-creator with this selection,” O’Connor writes.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard Russell was being shopped as Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reported something similar back in May.
Reunion With Nets?
GettyD’Angelo Russell was an All-Star with the Nets.
The former Nets guard saw his best season as a pro in Brooklyn as that’s when he brought home his lone All-Star nod. He’s currently playing on a massive four-year, $117 million deal and while he hasn’t lived up to that deal, he’s still productive.
Being a co-star like he is in Minnesota might not be the best role for him, but instead, he could come back to Brooklyn and find a better spot playing alongside Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons.
With the Wolves looking to improve, there might be a sense they have hit their ceiling with the core of Karl Anthony-Towns, Anthony Edwards and Russell. Bleacher Report’s Joseph Zucker mentions it might be easier now than ever before for another team, like the Nets, to swoop in and grab the former All-Star.
“The ship has probably sailed on the Wolves flipping Russell for an All-Star-caliber talent, but he might be the best trade asset at their disposal,” Zucker wrote. “Towns isn’t going anywhere, and Anthony Edwards should be considered untouchable.”
One thing working against the Nets is they don’t have a ton of assets to offer up in a trade. Bruce Brown and Nic Claxton would be decent enough pieces, but those could very well be players the Nets don’t want to let go of.
Russell Has Some Suitors
GettyD’Angelo Russell to the New York Knicks?
Russell will have some interest around the league, and that includes the cross-town rival New York Knicks.
“The other thing is, what kind of market is there for D’Angelo Russell? He is in the last year of his contract and you could get him for one year and ($31) million, for a guy who is good but not great,” an Eastern Conference executive told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney. “A guy who is about an average NBA starter. There are not a lot of teams that need a big-money point guard right now. The Knicks are really the only ones, that’s why they’re in a pretty good position with this market.”
Minnesota’s biggest issue in a potential trade right now would be matching Russell’s salary. He’s not exactly worth $31 million on his own, and the executive mentions the Knicks are pretty much the only team who can bring him on. They even say it could be simple for them.
“If the Knicks give up Evan Fournier and Obi (Toppin), they do not have to give up a lot more than that, maybe they get off Nerlens’ (Noel) contract, too,” said the exec.
It’s tough for the Nets to potentially match a deal like that, but that’s what the wildness of the offseason is for.
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