The days leading up to the NBA trade deadline has featured plenty of chatter about a number of teams and players, with the biggest name getting floated around being Golden State Warriors guard D’Angelo Russell. The most prominent rumor is that the Minnesota Timberwolves, which coveted Russell this summer before he was traded to the Dubs, wanted to make a move for him and give Karl-Anthony Towns a backcourt partner for the foreseeable future.
As it turns out, though, those talks have apparently hit a gigantic bump in the road. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the two sides have decided to table trade talks for the time being.
Golden State is moving on from D’Angelo Russell conversations with Minnesota at this juncture, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Warriors have been clear with Minnesota on price point — and Timberwolves, to this point, are not willing to meet it.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 5, 2020
Part of what makes this interesting is that previous rumors indicated a Russell swap could happen as part of a four-team deal involving the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks. But according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, those talks are still happening even with the Warriors out of the equation.
Minnesota, Houston and Atlanta are still engaged in talks on a three-team deal — with no new progress in discussions on adding Golden State to deal, league sources tell ESPN. Talks remain fluid through Thursday 3 PM ET deadline.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 5, 2020
Wojnarowski continued to add some details on what happened with the Timberwolves and Warriors, explaining that the two teams aren’t close to figuring something out.
Golden State, Minnesota traded deal concepts today and tonight — but a significant gulf remains. Warriors are investigating deals that shed salary and lower tax bill — as well as bring back some draft value. Holding onto D'Angelo Russell thru deadline has always been an option. https://t.co/77s2keXl9a
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 5, 2020
It’s important to remember that a whole lot can happen between now and Thursday afternoon when the deadline closes, and if the sides cannot figure something out, there’s nothing stopping Minnesota from making another run at Russell when the offseason rolls around. For now, though, it seems like Russell will get the chance to play alongside Steph Curry when the latter returns from surgery sometime soon.
