The Golden State Warriors are in talks with the Timberwolves discussing a three-way trade involving D’Angelo Russell.
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ pursuit of for a D’Angelo Russell trade has been well documented and here’s the reality, the Golden State Warriors have a player they want and hold all the cards, expect Minnesota to try to pull out all the stops.
Per NBC Sports the Warriors have already rejected an offer for two first-round picks for Russell and don’t have any reason to accept an offer which doesn’t reflect the former All-Star’s value.
The former Brooklyn Net has already stated he wants to remain in San Francisco and the Dubs have him under contract long-term, Bob Myers will likely get a major haul if the Dubs do decide to sign off on a Russell trade.
However, it could be in the interest of the Warriors to trade Russell at this point to avoid the dreaded repeater tax as Golden State’s payroll could top $175m which would trigger a whopping $108m luxury tax bill, the repeater would add another $34m to this. We all know Joe Lacob is willing to spend to keep the band together but whether he is willing to spend on a potential combination that may not work is a story for another day.
After discussing potential trades with Dunking with Wolves contributor Tomos Berry we both agreed, that another team could be involved within the trade and that could potentially be the Houston Rockets.
Here is the trade scenario:
Houston receives: Robert Covington, Gorgui Dieng
Golden State receives: Clint Capela, PJ Tucker, Josh Okogie, 2020 unprotected first-round pick from Minnesota, 2021 unprotected first-round pick from Houston
Minnesota receives: D’Angelo Russell
This scenario could potentially prove to be a win-win-win situation for all three clubs, Minnesota gets the point guard they have coveted since 2018 and have a chance to build a big three between Russell, Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns.
As for Golden State, they would receive Capela who would give them an interior presence they haven’t had since Andrew Bogut, a wing in Okogie who is a great perimeter defender and Tucker a strong two-way wing that shores up the small/power forward position and can play a bit of center in small-ball lineups. Not to mention the potential opportunity to have two top-five draft picks.
While the Rockets would get the starting wing in Covington they have been seeking and a serviceable center in Gorgui Dieng who has improved under the tutelage of Ryan Saunders.
In this scenario the Warriors will take $25.8m in salary and will send Russell $27.3m salary to the Wolves, saving themselves $1.5m in the process but the Warriors will have to trade Alec Burks or Glenn Robinson III in order to sneak under the luxury tax threshold too.
Not to mention the fact Minnesota is currently unwilling to offload their unprotected 2020 first-round pick an asset which Myers is seeking per Shams Charania. Furthermore the fact that even if the T-Wolves do surrender their draft pick, it may not guarantee success.
For example, let’s say LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards are taken they may not necessarily develop into stars while Russell may become a superstar. These are reasonable arguments against trade and are completely understandable.
But at the end of the day everybody gets something each other wants, the Warriors get the chance to potentially draft and develop two franchise stars and would finally get their center, Minnesota gets their point guard and Houston gets a starting-caliber wing.
The likelihood of it happening is, probably minimal at best. But it is a scenario which if it comes up should be at least considered if not taken.