D’Angelo Russell is a point guard that currently plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he is a combo guard that is equally adept at scoring the basketball and making plays for others. Over the course of the regular season, D’Angelo Russell averaged 18.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 7.1 APG.
Earlier this month, a report suggested that the Minnesota Timberwolves could potentially trade D’Angelo Russell, even though he is close friends with Timberwolves star center Karl-Anthony Towns:
The future of another prominent lefty lead guard in the West is much more uncertain after Minnesota’s first-round exit. D’Angelo Russell wound up on the bench at crunch time in the Timberwolves’ season-ending Game 6 defeat at home to Memphis and averaged just 12.0 points per game on 33.3% shooting in his second career playoff series. Numerous rival teams expect the Wolves to try to trade Russell this offseason irrespective of Russell’s close relationship with Minnesota star Karl-Anthony Towns. Russell, 26, has one season left on his contract at $31.4 million.
A recent report by Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report revealed that D’Angelo Russell is a “lower-level trade target” for the New York Knicks. There is no doubt that he’d give the team a facilitating point guard that they have lacked this season:
As the Knicks work down the list of their point guard options, rival executives have pointed to Minnesota Timberwolves starter D’Angelo Russell as a potential lower-level trade target. New York’s front office recently added former Minnesota president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, who once chased Russell in free agency and later traded Andrew Wiggins to Golden State for the creative point guard.
D’Angelo Russell had a rough playoff run this year, and one wouldn’t necessarily be surprised if he does end up getting traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, it is still possible that he does better next season as he is only 26, and will be hitting his prime.
It should be noted that D’Angelo Russell isn’t the only target for the New York Knicks, and they notably had an interest in Pacers point guard Malcolm Brogdon. It remains to be seen who they trade for, and it is clear that they’re keeping their options open.
