Minnesota Timberwolves point guard D’Angelo Russell is no stranger to trades or rumors regarding a possible trade. Each year when the NBA trade deadline comes around, his name makes headlines.
2023 appears to be no different. As the February 9 deadline approaches, Russell is once again subject to those rumors. This time, Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Miami Heat have “registered interest” in Russell.
“Yeah, it’s my life,” Russell said of the trade rumors. “That’s it. Just be conscious of it.”
Russell, who is currently on an expiring deal, is making $31.4 million this season and seems like an obvious trade piece. However, in order for the Heat to acquire the former All-Star, they’d likely have to include guard Kyle Lowry in the swap. He’s on the books for $28.3 million this season and has an additional year ($29.7M) attached to his contract. That makes any such deal “unlikely,” Fischer added.
There are others around the league who have pondered the exact same trade.
“Could [the Wolves] call Miami and get Kyle Lowry,” ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst asked on the Hoop Collective podcast last week. “Because he’s the type of veteran guy who I think would really help them. And I think that the Heat might be interested in getting out from that contract.”
But like Fischer, Windhorst got hung up on the financial details and expressed doubt Minnesota would be willing to take on Lowry’s contract.
“I don’t know if they’re in position to do that with where their salaries are at,” he added. “But I’m also not sure they’re going to re-sign Russell unless he takes a significant paycut — and that was going to be a challenge before this year, even if everything was going well.”
The Timberwolves have $119.8 million on the books for next season (for 10 players) and they’re likely more interested in shedding salary than adding it or swapping for a similar amount.
