Orlando Magic Receive: G D’Angelo Russell, MIN 2023 1st Round Pick (Top-10 Protected)
Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: G Terrence Ross, G Michael Carter-Williams, ORL 2023 2nd Round Pick, ORL 2025 2nd Round Pick
Whether or not the Timberwolves look to completely rebuild in the offseason or move one or two of their All-Star caliber players is yet to be known, but the idea definitely has to be in the back of the minds of their front-office. D’Angelo Russell is a great player, but if he is never healthy, then what good does he do for Minnesota?
His value has gone way down on the trade market as a result and with other young guards stepping up and playing well with Russell out, the Timberwolves may not want to keep him around, especially since he is going to be owed $30M next season and still be under contract through the 2022-23 season.
While they do have Cole Anthony and Markelle Fultz in the backcourt, adding a potential healthy D’Angelo Russell could do wonders for the Orlando Magic and he could be the face of their franchise moving forward since he is only 25-years-old.
For the Minnesota Timberwolves, they need answers and they need them quickly. This season is going to be yet another lost cause and with a lot of high-level talents on their roster in Russell, Towns, Edwards, Beasley and McDaniels, they definitely have the potential to grow into a strong team, but they will need to make the right moves management wise.
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If they were to trade Russell in this deal with the Magic, not only would they get back two experienced players in Terrence Ross and Michael Carter-Williams, who can contribute immediately, but they would also get two future second-round picks that they could potentially use in the future or leverage in other trades.
The Timberwolves need to keep their core group intact and unfortunately, it does not seem like D’Angelo Russell fits in well with this team, especially since he has barely played with them and it will take time for him to get used to playing with all of them. Trading him while his value is still high and getting two really solid role players that can help the T-Wolves win games next year is definitely worthwhile for Minnesota.
Now, let’s take a look at if this trade does fully make sense for both the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves and if trading D’Angelo Russell could be a very real possibility for the T-Wolves.
