Some news, notes and insights from the trade deadline as we wait for the buyout market to open up …
· Golden State has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to roster building … but the D’Angelo Russell/Andrew Wiggins swap was a head scratcher. This isn’t an endorsement of Russell’s long term fit with the Warriors; it was clear, as Steve Kerr noted after the trade, that Russell wasn’t going to work alongside a healthy Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. But what was the rush? Minnesota has chased Russell for months—they wouldn’t have waited a few more?