Minnesota Timberwolves: Evaluating Robert Covington trade partners, mock trades
1. Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry is expected to return in the first week of March and, naturally, the Golden State Warriors will win games with a player of his caliber, slightly climbing up out of the worst record in the league. Russell has been a stop-gap, first a return for Kevin Durant which the Warriors insisted they were going to keep alongside Curry, who has been out since Oct. 30.
Curry turns 32 in March and Klay Thompson will be back as the Warriors gear up for contention in 2020-21, so trading Russell seems inevitable to add depth to their roster or get a strong player on the wing. That’s where the Timberwolves can make an impact.
light. Related Story. Warriors should trade Russell to capitalize on Big 3
To balance out the salary, we get a third team — the Detroit Pistons — involved to help balance salary. Minnesota will send Gorgui Dieng to help match Russell’s salary and a lottery-protected first in 2020 for the hassle. Detroit sends Tony Snell on the wing and Thon Maker for an extra big to provide depth for the Warriors. Khyri Thomas goes to Minnesota so Detroit can stay under the luxury tax.
Golden State adds depth on the wing it didn’t previously have and an extra center in case someone gets hurt. On top of that, the Pistons get a lottery-protected first for taking on Dieng’s contract while giving up their starting small forward and rotational center.
The base of the trade — Russell-for-Covington — is not bad but there are moving parts to help get there for salary-matching purposes. Golden State may be the real winners though pairing Russell with Towns and Andrew Wiggins should create a more dynamic offense. While Minnesota doesn’t get the picks it desires, Russell is a high-end point guard that is only 24 years old.