mercgold3 wrote:I would trade Dlo for Otto Porter straight up.
I know we are not a Free agency destination but Dlo earning 30M per season in the next 3 years is just brutal.
I would rather have the cap flexibility over his contract moving forward.
I would do that in a second, not just for the flexibility but for the culture. Not sure Chicago would be looking for a guy like Russell, though. What they're lacking is veteran help. I think Rubio would be a better fit for them, and Karnisovas is a guy that knows him pretty well.
Two other teams that could send that type of expiring salary for Russell are the Heat and the Spurs. Of course those 2 organizations are the opposite of what Russell represents, but if one of them thought they could turn him into more of a team player (they'd have a better chance than the Wolves, to be honest), these would work:
- Russell x Dragic + Meyers Leonard. Both Miami contracts have a TO at the end of the season. The Heat have been better lately, but they could feel they need some extra punch as they have one of the lowest scoring, least efficient offenses in the league. Dragic is respected in Miami and he was great for them last playoffs, but he's old-ish and injury prone, and Meyers Leonard is out for the season, so they wouldn't be losing much. It all depends on how coachable they think Russell is with the right people around him, and whether they still think they can get a true star next summer (Giannis is out of the picture and I think Beal would be too hard to get for them, but you never know with Riley at the helm).
- Russell x LaMarcus Aldridge. This one's very unlikely and harder than the one with the Heat for a number of reasons, but as with Miami, if Pop feels he can make Russell play team ball, and he sees him as a good fit next to Dejounte Murray / Derrick White, it would work without any team having to throw anything else.
And a couple other options:
- Orlando: Fournier, Khem Birch and James Ennis. Hard to imagine them being interested in Russell after extending Fultz just a couple months ago, but who knows how long will it take the kid to come back this time.
- Dallas: James Johnson, Marjanovic and WCS. The Wolves would only take on WCS' contract for next season (4M PO) and they'd get some help on the frontcourt while getting rid of Russell's deal. I can't really see the Mavs being all that interested in Russell either, but they need a secondary creator and Carlisle loves his PGs, so maybe there's a chance if they don't play well before the deadline.
Unfortunately I don't think there's one team in the league willing to take on Russell's contract and to send the same salary or close to it on expiring deals. And I don't even think Rosas wants to trade him. There's probably a much better chance that it's Rubio leaving the team either at the trade deadline or next summer.











