Will The Timberwolves Extend D'Angelo Russell's Contract?

Now in the final year of his contract, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a decision to make regarding former All-Star D’Angelo Russell’s future.

Trading for All-Star center Rudy Gobert in the offseason and adding depth at every position this offseason, the Minnesota Timberwolves have made it clear to the rest of the NBA that they are a real threat.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards are both top-tier scoring options for this team and while his production has been inconsistent over the years, D’Angelo Russell remains this team’s starting point guard and a very important part of their potential success.

Russell is now in his fourth season with the Timberwolves, which includes the 2019-20 season when he was traded to Minnesota ahead of the trade deadline, and more importantly, D’Angelo Russell is now in the final year of his contract.

Set to become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season, the Timberwolves have a big decision to make in regards to possibly extending Russell on a new long-term deal.

Between injuries and his decreased production through the years, one may argue that the Timberwolves should look to replace Russell, but at the same time, can they really afford to let a player of his talent walk, especially if they have nobody else to replace him with?

The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski joined The Fast Break Podcast recently to talk about this very matter and he offered some inside perspective as to how Minnesota will approach D’Angelo Russell’s contract situation throughout the season.

Krawczynski: “I do not think that Russell will be kept exclusively because of the friends he has with Karl-Anthony Towns and all of that. I think there are two reasons that the Timberwolves will keep him. One is if he has a great year, they win a lot of games and the Timberwolves make it clear that they can be successful with D’Angelo Russell as their point guard moving forward. The second is that they could wind up signing him because they need to hold his salary cap slot. Due to Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns already having max contracts, plus Anthony Edwards being up for a potential max extension soon, there is no wiggle room in the salary cap. If they were to lose Russell, it is not like they get to just go and sign another $30 million player. That money would be gone and so they could try and work out some kind of compromise deal with Russell where they would sign him and then they would have some flexibility where if it doesn’t work out, they could look to trade him and get another player or players that fit in a little bit better. They’re going to have to consider the economics, they’re going to have to consider the production and then make their decision as the year goes on.”

Obviously everyone within the Minnesota Timberwolves organization would prefer the first option that Krawczynski laid out when discussing Russell’s future, but he does bring up a very valid second point.

D’Angelo Russell is currently making $31.37 million in the final year of what was a four-year, $117.32 million deal. If the Timberwolves just let him go and sign with another team, his cap slot that they have had will just disappear and the team will not be able to go out and bring in another player of his caliber or price tag.

Some may say this is a good thing, as the Timberwolves would then have more money to spend on Towns, Gobert and Edwards moving forward, which is partially true, but at the same time, they would lose a massive chunk of talent with a $30 million-plus contract leaving their roster with no replacement coming in.

As a result, the Timberwolves would be left with players that they could sign in free agency using their mid-level exception, as Krawczynski went on to explain on the podcast.

Since joining the Minnesota Timberwolves, D’Angelo Russell has played in a total of 126 games, averaging 18.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game while shooting 41.8 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent from three-point range. Nothing about his averages with the team are bad, which is why keeping Russell is most likely in the best interest of everyone in this scenario.

Maybe Russell is not going to be a part of the Timberwolves immediate long-term future, but as of right now, they cannot replace him with anyone on their roster and his salary cap slot is going to be extremely important to this franchise, especially if they look to upgrade their roster down the line in a big trade. 

---

The Fast Break Podcast hosted by our own Brett Siegel is now LIVE!

Be sure to catch up on the latest news and intel from around the league by checking out The Fast Break Podcast, now streaming on Apple Podcasts and Spotify with new episodes releasing every Friday.