The Jazz, Magic, Timberwolves, and Pacers are among the teams expected to display interest in D’Angelo Russell when he hits the free agent market this summer, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic. Of course, since Russell will be a restricted free agent, the Nets will open the offseason in the driver’s seat to retain him.
With the Nets expected to be in the hunt for top free agents like Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving, Russell may have to be patient and wait for those stars to make decisions before Brooklyn moves on him, as he acknowledged earlier this week. However, a rival suitor could speed up his free agency timeline by putting a huge offer sheet on the table, forcing the Nets to decide whether or not to match that offer once the July moratorium ends.
Still, the teams named by Charania as probable suitors for Russell don’t look particularly well-equipped to put together that sort of lucrative offer sheet. Neither the Timberwolves nor the Magic project to have any cap room available, and the mid-level exception obviously won’t be enough to make a serious play for the All-Star point guard.
The Jazz have a clearer path to creating cap space, but they might need to waive Derrick Favors to create the necessary room, which would be a risky play without any assurances that the Nets wouldn’t match an offer sheet for Russell. Tony Jones of The Athletic suggests (via Twitter) that Utah would only be interested if Russell becomes unrestricted or if it’s clear the Nets won’t match.
The Pacers are the one team in the aforementioned group with the cap flexibility required to make a strong bid for Russell, though they have plenty of moving parts to consider too, with a handful of starters and rotation players up for new deals.
Russell, who set new career highs in 2018/19 with 21.1 PPG, 7.0 APG, a .434 FG%, and a .369 3PT%, would be eligible to sign for up to $158MM over five years with the Nets, based on current cap projections. The most a rival team could offer would be about $117MM for four years.