Timberwolves rumors over D’Angelo Russell cool as he heats up

The Minnesota Timberwolves may not be a hot team right now, toggling between a team that can string some wins together, get to .500, and then just lose to whomever they face at that even record that drops them down below .500 once more.  But the team has found itself in the eye of the NBA Trade Deadline hurricane of rumors frequently this season.

The cause? The Minnesota Timberwolves have toggled between an NBA Playoff team, and a team on the verge of collapse and in need of new blood and a reboot. Those types of NBA teams are often ripe for some sort of activity in the days before another trade deadline arrives.

One of the key topics of Timberwolves’ rumors this season has been veteran guard D’Angelo Russell. At times, he can be a prolific scorer whose heroics have propelled a lethargic team to victory. At other times, he himself has appeared to be lackluster at best, a play who is nearly a salary dump candidate as much as a player an NBA contender might eye to upgrade their roster for a playoff push.

But he has been more hero than dead weight of late. And that had either raised his fair market value or outright pulled his name off the NBA Trade block.

The Timberwolves ended 2022 with a record of 16-21. In January 2023, the team flipped a switched and turned things around, winning 11 of 16 games to claw back to a 27-26 record and renew hopes for an NBA Playoff berth. While there are many Timberwolves players who have contributed to the team’s sudden hot streak, D’Lo has been one of the positive stories for the month.

Despite opening the season sluggishly, Russell has matched or bested his career averages in almost all meaningful categories this season. And unlike other years, he has not wilted in the face of tougher competition.

While the Minnesota Timberwolves rumors are still being reported, D’Angelo Russell’s name has been mentioned fewer times. That’s ironic because his recent performance has certainly caught the eye of other NBA GMs right now. So the only logical explanation is that teams continue to show interest in trading for him, but the Timberwolves are not as interested or motivated to trade him away.