The Minnesota Timberwolves reportedly believe they have a pathway to sign D'Angelo Russell this summer, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.
Russell becomes a restricted free agent this offseason, meaning the Brooklyn Nets can match any offer sheet should Russell sign one with another team.
However, with all signs pointing toward Kyrie Irving signing with the Nets, Brooklyn could renounce Russell's free agent rights, making him an unrestricted free agent instead.
Timberwolves All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns is very close friends with Russell. Minnesota drafted Texas Tech's Jarrett Culver in the 2019 NBA Draft. A young core of Towns, Culver and Russell in Minnesota would be something Timberwolves fans could get behind.
“There has been a lot of Minnesota D'Angelo Russell noise,” Lowe said. “And it's not all Karl Towns commenting on Instagram because they're friends. Minnesota has communicated to the league, not the NBA league, just the league at large that they believe they have a pathway to get D'Angelo Russell.
“I can't see what it is because they're capped out and they have all of these contracts nobody wants, but they've communicated that.”
Jeff Teague is the Timberwolves' current starting point guard, while Derrick Rose backs up Teague. Teague already picked up his $19 million player option for next season. In a perfect world, Minnesota would love to trade Teague and small forward Andrew Wiggins.
Rose is an unrestricted free agent this offseason and figures to draw interest from contenders. Free agency starts on June 30. We'll see if the Timberwolves are able to acquire Russell, who averaged 21.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists this past season with the Nets.
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