D’Angelo Russell has one season left on the max contract he signed in 2019 while he was with the Golden State Warriors. He’s eligible for an extension now, but the negotiations to keep Russell will be a bit more difficult after the TImberwolves signed Karl-Anthony Towns to a max contract and then traded for Rudy Gobert. The latter arrives with his own massive salary demands.
Russell is coming off a season where he averaged 18.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game on 41.1 percent shooting from the field and 34.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc. As the third option behind KAT and Anthony Edwards, D-Lo had some memorable in the regular-season and scored 29 points during Minnesota’s Play-In tournament win over the Clippers.
“Hell yeah,” Russell said per The Athletic. “Obviously every player wants an extension, and you want to be in a position to do that.”
D’Angelo Russell when asked if he wants to finalize an extension before the 2022-23 season begins:
— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) July 13, 2022
“Hell yeah… Obviously every player wants an extension, and you want to be in a position to do that.”https://t.co/4PWnkfv5qv
With Gobert in the fold, Russell will likely be able to keep his spot in the offensive hierarchy, but he will be asked to keep up his playmaking chops as the T-Wolves figure out how to best incorporate Gobert into their offense. In Utah, the Stifle Tower was best when he could rumble down the lane off pick-and-rolls and crush the ball on alley-oops or dump-off passes.
D-Lo will also need to keep Ant and KAT happy as the incumbent 1-2 punch Minnesota will rely on to bring them back to the playoffs next season.
If Russell and Minnesota cannot agree on a deal, the former All-Star guard said he wouldn’t have any hard feelings toward the T-Wolves’ front office. He says he likes the team he’s around, and although he doesn’t know how things will unfold, he knows that for now, he is needed in Minnesota to help the team unlock their next level towards earning their first title in franchise history.
“Those are things I can’t really control. I know my value, what I’m capable of, the position I’m being put in now, the players that we got around us, the sky’s the limit,” Russell said. “If we don’t go through with that, I know what position I’m in and if we do, I know what position I seem to be in. So we spend a lot of money. We’ll see how that works out.”
