Russell trade with Knicks, Timberwolves discussed
The Warriors would love to see how D’Angelo Russell and Stephen Curry fit together on the court this season, but both the Knicks and Timberwolves are reportedly pushing hard to trade for Golden State’s 23-year-old guard before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.
New York’s SNY confirmed Sunday night the Knicks have engaged the Warriors in trade discussions for Russell and among the players who have come up in those talks are Bobby Portis and Frank Ntilikina.
In addition, the Warriors are still hearing trade pitches from the Timberwolves, according to The Athletic. Minnesota, is said to be offering a package featuring small forward Andrew Wiggins, but it’s also reportedly unwilling to give up this year’s firstround pick.
“There is a deal to be had here,” a source told The Athletic regarding the Wolves pairing, “but something would have to give.”
While both teams are aggressively pursuing Russell, the Warriors don’t have a lot of incentive to part ways with their current leading scorer (23.8 points per game). They’d have to be blown away by a panic offer from either the Knicks or Timberwolves, both of which are in desperate need of an impact player such as Russell.
The Knicks’ reported willingness to include Portis would be a nice starting point. Portis, who turns 25 next week, is a classic stretch 4 as the 6-foot-10 former Arkansas star is shooting a career-best 40 percent on 3-pointers. Ntilikina, the Knicks’ backup point guard, though, has been a major disappointment after being a lottery pick two years ago.
Despite showing some improvement this season, particularly on defense, Wiggins wouldn’t seem to be an upgrade over Russell.
It stands to reason the Warriors would need to be compensated with another lottery pick in any potential Russell deal with the Knicks or Timberwolves.
Should Golden State decide — or has already decided — that pairing Russell with a healthy Curry and Klay Thompson next season isn’t optimal, it would make much more sense to wait until July to orchestrate a trade. The Warriors, who are currently hard-capped until the end of the season because of their sign-andtrade for Russell, would have much more flexibility once their disappointing regular season closes. Their salary cap situation wouldn’t be encumbered because the hard cap would be lifted and they’d know which lottery spot they’d be drafting in, giving them a clearer picture of their potential trade assets.
By holding onto Russell until July, the Warriors, who also will have a $17.1 million trade exception leftover from the Andre Iguodala trade, would be in position to chase after any All-Star who becomes available. Who knows if they’ll get a shot at guys such as the Wizards’ Bradley Beal, the 76ers’ Ben Simmons or even the T’Wolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns or the Bucks’ Giannis Antetekounmpo? In any case, having Russell, a Top 5 pick and a $17.1 million trade exception would leave them wellarmed to make a blockbuster deal.
It’s been reported one of the Warriors’ motivations could be avoiding the luxury tax and repeater tax, but the team’s ownership has demonstrated a willingness to pay whatever costs go along with building a title-caliber team.