Minnesota Sports Forum

For decades in Iowa, high school girls played six-on-six basketball, and the state tournament was even more popular than the boys' state tournament. 3 of the girls would play exclusively offense and the other three would play only defense, and no girl ever crossed center court. I'm not sure if they also played this version of basketball in D'Angelo Russell's home state of Kentucky, but I'm sure we can all agree that it would have been ideally suited to his talents.

I suggested in this thread that the time may be right for the Wolves to consider moving DLo in that his recent offensive hot streak has likely raised his perceived value around the league. Many of us here who don't believe that we are getting enough value for the approximately $30 million that we are spending on our starting point guard, also lament that we might not get much back for him in a trade...so maybe his recent offensive spurt could change that belief. After all, his brilliant 4th quarter against Utah garnered him a lot of media attention (and likely the attention of some POBOs). My suggestion was summarized as "silly", despite the fact that trading Dlo is one of the topics most often discussed by the media...both locally and nationally...and the subject of several minutes of discussion on Barreiro's show yesterday. Barreiro said that his sources tell him that the Wolves (silly?) front office spends a considerable amount of their time trying to find ways to move DLo. The poster who labeled the idea of considering a DLo trade "silly" supported his non-silly argument with a barrage of data...the most relevant of which consisted of offensive stats. I have also been quite excited about Dlo's offensive performance the past couple weeks for two reasons...we have a better chance of winning during those occasional streaks when he has an above average TS%, and also because it raises his potential trade value. But then there's his defense...

If this were 6 on 6 basketball, I would be a dues-paying member of the Russell fan club...despite his up and down streaky nature, he's fun to watch when he goes on his periodic offensive tears. But unfortunately the NBA still requires players to play at both ends of the court, and his consistently poor defense is the primary reason why the Wolves (and the 3 teams he played for before us) almost always performed better when DLo was on the bench than on the court. Even during his 15-game hot streak, the Wolves have still been outscored while he has been on the court (although he has been uncharacteristically positive in the five games KAT has been out of the lineup, supporting the narrative of some that he needs another ball-handler like SloMo or JMac next to him).

I really hope Tim Connelly doesn't consider the idea of moving Russell for value to be silly...

Settle down, FNG. The idea of trading D'Angelo Russell is silly right now considering he's playing fantastic basketball and the Wolves are winning despite not having their best player available. Winning is what comes first, remember? They need all the firepower they currently have, and that absolutely includes D-Lo. It's really as simple as that. I apologize for interrupting another one of your Jordan McLaughlin fantasies. Please continue...

Also, since when is Dan Barreiro a credible source of anything? Did I miss something there? I can't recall him being clued in at any point. Maybe Tim Connelly and the Wolves are looking for a trade, or maybe they're not, but I wouldn't expect Barreiro to know anything about it before the rest of us. He's just speculating like everyone else.

Dammit, there I go being silly again. Dan Barreiro has covered sports as both a reporter and a talk show host in town here for over 35 years, and talks with players, front office people and others in the know with respect to NBA matters daily, and he has never had a "throw it out there and see what sticks to the wall" style like Dougie or Charlie Walters...he's more like Jon K than those "rumor guys". But I'll admit it never crossed my mind that those of us on this message board might have even more unfettered access to those in the know than those that do it for a living. I'll try to focus on more "credible" sources in the future. Thanks.

I don't want to get in the middle of this, but I'll offer my thoughts.

My first thought is that the Wolves should definitely be proactively engaged in exploring possible deals for DLO. Why? In part for all the reasons FNG has provided regarding DLO's inconsistency and relatively poor defense over the course of career, but also because of his expiring contract. His expiring contract gives him market value and also gives the Wolves a limited window (until the Feb. trade deadline) to move him. I also think DLO doesn't fit as well with Gobert because when Gobert, KAT and DLO are on the floor at the same time, this team is just too slow and unathletic in my view to be a top team in the NBA - a league of speed and athleticism.

Nevertheless, I see reasons not to trade him. First, unless we can get a 1st-round pick or multiple 2nd round picks to start replenishing our draft stock, I still have a hard time coming up with a player we could get in return who would improve the team. Second, to extract value from DLO's expiring contract, the Wolves would have to take back a multi-year deal at around the same salary. That would have luxury tax implications for the Wolves. I suppose there's a chance we could get a really bad or injuries player on an expiring contract in return from a team that believes DLO would help them make the playoffs this season, but again I'm not sure who that would be. DLO for Lonzo Ball and another player to match salaries? Maybe. Third, can't overlook the overall positive contribution DLO has made to winning over the past five games or in last season's play-in game against the Clippers. And I can't dismiss the positive vibe he brings to this team - something those of us who go to games (including FNG) have mentioned before.

Finally, I think it's pretty clear that DLO won't command a big contract in free agency next summer, which means we should be able to sign him for considerably less than we're paying now. Honestly, can anyone think of a team that will be banging down DLO's door to sign him next summer? Even if the Wolves finish 4th or 5th and make it to the second round of the playoffs, I still don't see DLO commanding much in free agency. He'll likely remain inconsistent the rest of the season and even if he becomes more consistent, his reputation for inconsistency, defensive failings and career on/off stats will weigh heavily in the minds of GMs around the League. And if DLO is happy here and having success, I see the Wolves being able to sign him for a very reasonable deal next summer.

So, yes the Wolves front office should actively look for possible DLO deals. But I've reached a point where I'm comfortable keeping him and seeing where this thing goes with him in our starting lineup the rest of the season. The only types of players I insist on trading are those who show signs of not caring. DLO clearly cares.