Report: Clippers 'looking hard at D'Angelo Russell'
The NBA trade deadline strikes at 2 p.m. CT Thursday and it remains a giant mystery what the Minnesota Timberwolves will do with D'Angelo Russell.
The rumor mill hasn't been very hot, but that might be changing with a nugget from NBA insider Marc Stein on his new podcast with fellow insider Chris Haynes.
"From what I'm told, the Clippers have been looking hard at D'Angelo Russell," said Stein on the #thisleague UNCUT podcast. "I think they have interest in Naz Reid as well, but all the signals from Minnesota have been that Naz Reid is not going to be moved."
What can the Clippers give the Timberwolves for Russell?
Based on their reported offer to the Nets for Kyrie Irving, who was dealt to the Mavericks, the Clippers were willing to send Brooklyn Luke Kennard, Terance Mann, a future first-round pick and future first-round pick swaps.
Which of those pieces fit best with Minnesota? Probably Mann. He's a defensive-minded wing who has the ability to score, although he's averaging only 8.5 points per game this season. But with a defense-first approach, head coach Chris Finch could feature an extremely versatile defensive lineup with Mann, Jaden McDaniels, Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert all on the floor together.
Kennard would also be a great fit because of his ability to shoot the 3. He led the NBA in 3-point shooting last season and this year's he's hitting on 45.9% of his triples.
And any kind of draft pick compensation would be welcome since Minnesota gave up four first-round picks (and Walker Kessler) for Rudy Gobert.
Making the money work would require some creativity since Mann is only making $1.9 million this year (he's signed for two years and $21 million beyond this season) and Kennard is earning $14.4 million (also under team control for two more seasons).
Other reports suggest the Clippers are willing trade guards John Wall and Reggie Jackson, and small forward Robert Covington, though it's unclear if Minnesota has any interest in those players.
Trading Russell would be both wise because Russell is a free agent after the season and risky because Russell has been one of the best shooter in the NBA going back to December. But he's also expendable because Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to return from a calf injury sometime after the All-Star break.
The clock is ticking and the rumors should only get more interesting as the week continues.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.