NBA Trade Rumors: Are the tea leaves pointing to the Wolves moving D’Angelo Russell?

NBA Trade Rumors: Are signs pointing to the Minnesota Timberwolves trading D’Angelo Russell at the NBA Trade Deadline?

Most of the recent blame revolving around the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ failures this season is going to centered around Rudy Gobert, perhaps rightfully so. Still, there is certainly enough to go around. And one player that could end up being somewhat of another scapegoat is D’Angelo Russell.

Russell has had an up-and-down tenure with the Wolves and now that he’s in the final year of his deal with the team, it’s not surprising that he has emerged as a possible trade deadline candidate. If the Wolves are looking to make a slight adjustment to their roster, he’s probably the player that would need to be moved to get something done.

And according to a recent report, it seems as if the tea leaves are starting to point in that direction. Considering that the Wolves are looking more and more like a team that desperately needs to make a move at the deadline to jump-start the team into the second half of the season, a Russell trade wouldn’t be all that surprising.

What could a D’Angelo Russell trade look like?

Considering that the Wolves would be looking to make a slight adjustment to the roster, we should look at a possible return in the way of a veteran point guard. One point guard swap that has gotten some traction recently for the Wolves revolves around Miami’s Kyle Lowry.

However, I’m not sure that’s something Minnesota would entirely be interested in considering that Lowry still has an additional year on his contract compared to Russell’s current expiring deal.

Maybe they view Lowry as a much more valuable asset than Russell, but you’d have to imagine they could get something better on the open market – maybe not.

During his tenure in Minnesota, Russell’s production has fallen each year. Still, he’s averaging 17 points and seven assists on 45 percent shooting from the field this season. He struggles on the defensive end and perhaps that holds more water to the trade whispers than his offensive ability, but I’d be shocked if we saw Minnesota make a Russell for Lowry swap unless it included a future first-round pick or a valuable young piece.

Either way, as we inch closer and closer to the NBA Trade Deadline, Russell’s availability over the next few weeks will certainly be something to watch.