All eyes are on the NBA trade deadline before Thursday at noon PT. And while the Warriors were busy beating the Washington Wizards on Monday night, Golden State had plenty of eyes in Sacramento.
The Athletic's Sam Amick reported Tuesday morning that Warriors assistant general manager Mike DunleavyJr. and consultant Zaza Pachulia were at Golden 1 Center for all four quarters of the Kings' 113-109 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The latter of the two teams playing Monday night in Sacramento is what makes this interesting.
Despite having the second-worst record in the Western Conference at 15-34, the T-Wolves are doing anything they can to acquire Warriors guard D'Angelo Russell. But the Dubs hold the leverage in any trade talks, and haven't budged quite yet.
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The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor reported Monday night that the T-Wolves recently engaged in talks with the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks on a three-team trade that would have sent forward Robert Covington from Minnesota to Houston, center Clint Capela from Houston to Atlanta, and the Brooklyn Nets' 2020 first-round pick to Minnesota via Atlanta.
With that framework set up, Minnesota reportedly offered their own 2020 first-round pick along with the Nets' pick to the Warriors in exchange for Russell. The Warriors responded with two letters and one word: "No."
But the T-Wolves won't give up that easily. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday morning that Minnesota still is engaged in ways to acquire draft assets to possibly dangle in a D-Lo trade. Woj says there "still remains a gulf to overcome" in order for Russell to go from San Francisco to Minnesota.
[RELATED: Breaking down Dubs' three best assets before trade deadline]
The simple fact is, there is no reason to rush a Russell trade for the Warriors. The former All-Star is only 23 years old and is averaging a career-high 23.8 points per game while shooting 38.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Golden State Warriors
Golden State likely won't let Russell go right now unless they get a deal they can't refuse. With Zaza and Duleavy Jr. assigned to Sacramento on Monday night, though, it's clear the Warriors aren't wasting any time before Thursday's deadline.
Programming Note: The "2020 NBA Trade Deadline Show" is coming your way this Thursday at 11:30am on the MyTeams app and on NBCSportsBayArea.com! Our NBA Insiders will analyze all of the news and rumors that could impact the Warriors heading into the Noon deadline. Don’t miss it!