Windhorst on D'Angelo Russell Contract Extension: 'I Have Not Heard Any Discussion'

It does not appear the Minnesota Timberwolves are in any hurry to sign D'Angelo Russell to a contract extension.

"I have not heard any discussion about (D'Angelo Russell) getting an extension," ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on The Scoop w/ Doogie podcast.

Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News responded to Windhorst by saying Russell's agents reached out to Minnesota, but "it doesn't seem like it's being reciprocated."

Russell is heading into the final year of his contract and will make $31.4 million this season. Barring a return to All-Star form in 2022-23, he will almost certainly have to take a significant pay cut with his next contract. He averaged 18.1 points, 7.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game last season, solid numbers but ones that continue an all-around plateau in his development.

The Ohio State product has never shot better than 43.4 percent from the floor, and his per-minute production has been eerily similar every year since he was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers in 2017.

Minnesota acquired Russell midway through the 2019-20 season as a way of appeasing an increasingly disgruntled Karl-Anthony Towns. Russell and Towns maintain a close friendship, and the Timberwolves were hopeful that the off-court relationship would spark on the floor.

While both continued to perform well as individuals, the Timberwolves' trajectory did not change until a true co-star in Anthony Edwards arrived to help lead the franchise. Edwards, Towns and the recently acquired Rudy Gobert are the clear cornerstones of the Wolves, and Russell is an understandable afterthought.

Minnesota coach Chris Finch benched Russell for stretches during the 2022 playoffs in favor of former undrafted free agent Jordan McLaughlin; that's not exactly a sign of long-term confidence.

Still, Russell has maintained a desire to stay with the Wolves, and Minnesota is not a hotbed of free-agent interest, so it would probably behoove the Wolves to ink him to a new deal simply to avoid losing him for nothing next July. They aren't going to be able to replace Russell's cap number next season with Gobert and Towns on the books for $77 million; the cap math just doesn't work out.

If Russell is willing to take a deal in the four-year, $90-100 million range, it's something management should consider.