Report: Timberwolves unwilling to trade this player for Ben Simmons

The Minnesota Timberwolves are among the teams that are said to have interest in Ben Simmons, but apparently there is a limit to how much they are willing to spend.

The Timberwolves have no intention of including D’Angelo Russell in any trade this summer, according to Jon Krawczynski and Danny Leroux of The Athletic. While they are expected to pursue Simmons and potentially other players, the T-Wolves view Russell as a key part of their core and “want to keep it that way.”

Russell appeared in just 42 games in his first full season with Minnesota, but the team has obviously been impressed with the former No. 2 overall pick. He averaged 19.0 points and 5.8 assists per game. Of course, leaking word that Russell is off-limits could be the Timberwolves’ way of posturing ahead of a summer of negotiations.

Russell, Karl-Anthony Towns and Malik Beasley all made more than 38 percent of their 3-point attempts this season. Simmons is obviously a liability as a shooter, but the Timberwolves could, in theory, give him the spacing he needs to thrive. He could also help them defensively.

A report last month gave us an idea of just how interested the Timberwolves are in Simmons.