What Might Wolves Do With Russell, Nowell and Reid at NBA Trade Deadline?

Feb 8, 2023 - 8:30 PM

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On today’s show, Dane takes a final look at the three Minnesota Timberwolves players whose names have been most floating around the rumor mill ahead of Thursday’s 2 PM CT NBA Trade Deadline: point guard D’Angelo Russell, forward Naz Reid and guard Jaylen Nowell.

Dane takes a look at what the future for those three players might look like from not only a trade standpoint but also from the standpoint of a potential contract extension.

— Does keeping Nowell on the team and in the rotation make more sense now that he no longer needs to play point guard? How much could he feasibly improve from what we’ve seen over the last 30 games and would that alter the outlook on his future with the Timberwolves?

— Nowell talks at shoot around about how playing point guard this season has been difficult and about the perspective he’s bringing into the trade deadline and free agency this summer. Why is he better suited to play off the ball than on the ball? How does it affect his shooting?

— Why is a Naz Reid contract extension is contingent upon what goes down at the deadline from a salary cap standpoint? How would a Reid extension signal what the team might do this summer? Is keeping him beyond this offseason a legitimate possibility fans can get their hopes up about?

— Exploring a hypothetical D’Angelo Russell trade that (potentially!) could bring an asset back to Minnesota while also preserving the D’Lo salary slot. Why would something like this make sense for the Wolves? Is a D’Lo move likely or not?

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