Minnesota Timberwolves: D’Angelo Russell still dreaming of a Towns team-up

The idea of pairing Karl-Anthony Town with D’Angelo Russell is still alive and well, and not just from the Minnesota Timberwolves’ side of things.

Minnesota Timberwolves fans spent at least a few days of the early summer wishing for a pairing of Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell, and the Wolves tried their best to reciprocate.

There was even a day or two in between the draft and free agency during which it seemed for all the world that the Wolves would pull off a heist and have two young All-Stars running the floor at Target Center.

Alas, it all came apart when Russell was lured to Golden State following the sign-and-trade that sent Kevin Durant to Brooklyn.

But now, Russell, Towns, and fellow young star Devin Booker appeared on the cover of SLAM magazine, and Russell’s comments within the article have raised some eyebrows around the league.

"“We gotta do this again, when we’re all on the same team,” Russell jokes toward the end of the day. “Nah, don’t cut it,” he says to our rolling cameras. “Y’all got it on footage. When we’re all on the same team—I ain’t gonna tell you which team because I don’t know—we’re gonna do this again.”"

Bold, to be sure, but also a general wish for friends to play together.

It won’t happen in the entirely near future, however, as all three players recently signed hefty new deals with their current squads.

The potential scenario is laid out quite nicely by the NY Daily News.

"The Warriors could make this easy. They could trade Russell to the Wolves in a deal involving Andrew Wiggins. Russell would sign his contract in 2023 at a salary below the max, then Towns and Booker would follow suit in 2024. That’s only if the three want to play in Minnesota, though. They have as many options as they want, again, provided there are takers for all three when Russell’s free agency rolls around."

We know that the Wolves are still interested in Russell, and we’ve talked before here at Dunking With Wolves about the possibility of the Warriors shopping Russell once Klay Thompson returns to full strength following knee surgery.

The Phoenix Suns probably aren’t shopping Booker, but as things currently stand, Booker is a bit overpaid as the only member of the trio to not have made an All-Star team.

Towns sure appears to be all-in on the culture change in Minnesota led by Gersson Rosas, so here’s hoping that the trend continues as Rosas searches for a second — and eventually third — star to pair with Towns.

It wouldn’t be a surprise for the Wolves to land one of the two at some point in the next year, be it at the trade deadline or next summer. It would, however, be a mild surprise if Rosas is able to find a third young star in relatively short order.

All that said, that’s absolutely what Rosas is setting out to do. Stay tuned.