The Minnesota Timberwolves are set for the 2022-23 NBA Season. But is there room for one more trade before training camp starts? That is what Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley suggests, and he’s compiled one trade scenario for each NBA team to prove his point. The article suggests that the Timberwolves would offer up PG D’Angelo Russell and a 2023 second-round draft pick for Utah Jazz veteran point guard Mike Conley and combination guard Jordan Clarkson.
The trade seems to hinge on three parts:
I – D’Angelo Russell’s limited upside for the Timberwolves
II – Timberwolves not willing to extend Russell
III – Willingness of Timberwolves to commit to 34-year-old Mike Conley and 30-year-old Jordan Clarkson, over 26-year-old D’Angelo Russell.
Let’s break down those three ‘pre-assumptions’ and address them separately.
I – D’Angelo Russell’s limited upside for the Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves had every opportunity to part ways with D’Angelo Russell if that was the plan for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the foreseeable future. The interest in D’lo was at its peak just as the NBA free agency market opened for business. If the Timberwolves had any intention of trading Russell, the optimal period to do so would have been before the 2022 NBA Draft.
As soon as the Timberwolves traded for Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, that ended all debate as to whether the team would consider trading Russell. Russell will benefit considerably from Gobert’s presence on the roster, perhaps nearly as much as Karl-Anthony Towns. There is almost no chance that the Timberwolves front office would make extensive roster renovations, only to blow up the chance to witness the fruits of their labor in a last-second panic attack.
This pre-assumption grade: F
II – Timberwolves not willing to extend Russell
Let’s clarify a huge distinction here. A Minnesota Timberwolves wait-and-see perspective on how to value any extension of D’Angelo Russell with a new Timberwolves roster is nowhere close to the assertion that the team is unwilling to extend him. Sure, we’ve heard rumors that Russell has lowered his asking price, but the Timberwolves have just souped up the horsepower on this roster.
Now? They are eager to see if D’lo can handle all those horses.
It could be that the Timberwolves will be less than pleased with Russell’s ability to run the floor, and will be looking elsewhere. Or it could be that the Timberwolves will be completely satisfied with Russell at the helm, and will be eager to re-sign him to a multi-year deal. But we won’t know that until the Timberwolves witness how he plays during the 2022-23 NBA season.
This pre-assumption grade: D+
III – Willingness of Timberwolves to commit to 34-year-old Mike Conley and 30-year-old Jordan Clarkson, over 26-year-old D’Angelo Russell
The Minnesota Timberwolves may be in a win-now mode, but the roster has not been a wholesale discharge of young players in an attempt to pivot the average age on the roster to a much higher mean. Why would the Minnesota Timberwolves do so, particularly after the team took great pains to trade veterans to the Utah Jazz for Rudy Gobert, and leave their promising young players intact on the roster?
The Timberwolves have a plan to run a faster pace for the 2022-23 season, and D’Angelo Russell is far better equipped to do so than either Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson, or the combination of the two. And the exchange would park an additional $5+ million onto the Timberwolves roster.
Uh . . . no.
We know that the Timberwolves are quite aware of their financial status, as the team promoted young players to roster roles, rather than add veterans to a league minimum contract.
This pre-assumption grade: C-
In the end, this trade scenario gets high marks for imagination and creativity but truly fails to pass even a basic sniff test.
We grade this trade scenario: D