Will Timberwolves offer D’Angelo Russell a contract extension soon?

When the Minnesota Timberwolves handed out contracts and extensions, there was a great deal of press over the fact that the Timberwolves failed to extend point guard D’Angelo Russell before playing in the final year of his contract. At the time, there was a logical reason to stave off any extension. In short, the basic premise of no extension was simple.  Starting point guard D’Angelo Russell had not earned a contract just yet with this roster.

So that being said, how is he doing so far? Well, while quite early, the early results were not good. His assist-to-turnover ratio was only 2.0, while his perimeter shooting has slumped to just 27.5 percent in the early going, which is by far the worst three-point shooting in his nine-season NBA career.

What about his ability to contribute on both sides of the basketball court? Well, defensively D’Angelo Russell is very effective. That is seldom discussed and often ignored or overlooked when talking about his play is brought up. And yet, here are some of his defensive stats to make note of.

That’s pretty impressive.

The Timberwolves roster could lock up 4 starters with D’Angelo Russell extension

And so, the Minnesota Timberwolves had some mixed messaging over contract extensions for D’Angelo Russell. Before the season began, the Timberwolves likely had their best opportunity to arrive at a team-friendly deal for Russell. But that would have been a rough contract to sell to an already nervous fanbase, particularly as D’Lo did not start the season particularly well on offense.

But the cold winter winds and snow of December 2022 have arrived, and just like that, D’Angelo Russell is one of the hottest players on the team. Can it last? Will he remain healthy? Will this surge in offensive production carry the Timberwolves to and through the NBA Playoffs? Time will tell.

In the meantime, the Golden State Warriors signed Andrew Wiggins to a four-year $109 million extension. Is that the type of contract to expect from the Timberwolves for Russell when the time comes? Too little or too much if not?

Tying up four core players makes complete sense if the Minnesota Timberwolves front office likes what the team is doing this season. But with such inconsistent play, it’s difficult to tell which side of the fence of a contract extension for D’Angelo Russell the team is leaning right now. And it may not be an easy read until the Timberwolves are firmly entrenched in the seeding for an NBA Playoffs berth, or have squandered the 2022-23 season.

Until the brain trust has a good read on how this season will turn out, I would not expect significant progress to be made on any extension. But without D’Angelo Russell on the roster next season, the Minnesota Timberwolves will need to come up with alternatives, and quickly.