NBA Rumors: Latest Gossip on D’Angelo Russell, More Ahead of 2020 Trade Deadline – Bleacher Report

The NBA trade deadline is just over 24 hours away, and teams around the league are beginning to make their moves in the hopes of either contending this year or setting themselves up for the future.

Last night brought about a massive, four-team deal between the Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets. The trade sent Clint Capela to the Hawks and Robert Covington to the Rockets, while the Timberwolves ended up with Malik Beasley and picks, among others. Denver also obtained Houston’s first-round pick as well as a pair of depth pieces.

This might not be the last of multi-team deals due to relative financial cap inflexibility around the league. A number of contenders have needs to address, but they may not have the cash to do so without including at least one other team so as to balance out incoming and outgoing salaries. The NBA trade deadline is often full of financial gymnastics.

The Timberwolves had initially been hoping to involve the Golden State Warriors in the above deal so as to make a run at D’Angelo Russell, but those efforts failed. 

Here is the latest gossip on Minnesota’s pursuit of Russell plus a couple of rumors surrounding a pair of veteran players as the deadline approaches.

    

Timberwolves, Warriors Unlikely to Complete Trade for D’Angelo Russell

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the Timberwolves and Warriors “traded deal concepts” on Tuesday, but also that “a significant gulf remains.”

While shedding Russell’s salary—he is due more than $90 million over the next three years of his contract—would give the Warriors some more room to breathe, the “significant gulf” Wojnarowski referred to might have to do with draft-pick compensation.

The Warriors might be insistent on their desire to acquire Minnesota’s first-round pick for the 2020 NBA Draft, a selection which could have massive value given the Timberwolves currently have the fifth-worst record in the NBA. It would be interesting to see whether the Warriors and Timberwolves would be more amenable to working that pick into a potential deal if Minnesota were allowed to add protections. For example, would the Warriors take the pick (and would the Timberwolves give it up) if it were top-three or top-five protected?

In any case, the Timberwolves have been intent on pursuing Russell, as Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reported on Monday. 

Star center Karl-Anthony Towns first made his pitch for the front office to sign D-Lo this past summer, declaring Russell was “getting more of a yell from a microphone” to join the Timberwolves during an interview with Dime Magazine in June.

The Timberwolves are feeling the need to surround Towns with talent that can help the organization compete and win games right now, especially given how disgruntled the former No. 1 pick has been all season. 

However, acquiring Russell to team with Towns might come at a significant future cost.

      

Pelicans “Content” With Retaining Jrue Holiday

The New Orleans Pelicans find themselves in a potentially compromising position. While they initially looked like “sellers” after a 7-23 start to the season, the Pelicans are 13-8 since that point and have made up some ground in the Western Conference playoff race.

That said, New Orleans are still 5 1/2 games back of the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth spot in the West, and they have to currently have to leapfrog three other teams.

Still, the Pelicans indicated they might stand pat at the deadline following Zion Williamson’s return on Jan. 22. Indeed, Wojnarowski reported New Orleans are “content with Jrue Holiday remaining on the roster” through the deadline.

Holiday had a number of suitors, including the Nuggets and Miami Heat per ESPN’s Zach Lowe, but he is also a crucial player to their playoff hopes. The 29-year-old is averaging 19.4 points, 6.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds while also posing as one of New Orleans’ best individual defenders. The Pelicans can hardly expect to grow defensively (they rank 22nd in defensive rating) if they move Holiday.

Moreover, Holiday previously indicated he wanted to remain in New Orleans. He is unlikely to be moved barring a substantial offer.

    

Heat Inquiring About Danilo Gallinari

The Miami Heat are a team looking to add as they have surged towards the top of the Eastern Conference. Lowe reported the Heat are among the teams to express interest in Oklahoma City Thunder Danilo Gallinari. 

Miami will have to do some extra leg work to make a deal work given their current financial situations as well as the contracts tied to both James Johnson and Dion Waiters. However, Gallinari would be an excellent fit.

The veteran forward is averaging 19.2 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting an even 41 percent from beyond the arc on 7.4 attempts per game. He would be the a perfect complement go Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler as a stretch-four that can open up the paint and provide added floor spacing.

However, will the Thunder trade him? OKC are another squad that have outperformed expectations this season, and they are currently just 2 1/2 games of the fourth seed in the West. Granted, Gallinari is on an expiring contract, but the Thunder risk disrupting their offensive chemistry if they deal him away.

The other question is whether the Heat really need another offensive-minded player. They already rank sixth in offensive rating, and probably could use a wing defender like Andre Iguodala. In any case, keep an eye on Miami over the course of the next 24 hours.

    

All stats obtained via Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted.

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