D'Angelo Russell says Wolves' workload management plan for him is 'smart'

DALLAS – D'Angelo Russell was back in uniform for the Timberwolves on Monday night in their 139-123 loss to the Mavericks.

Russell had a good night from a statistical standpoint and scored 29 points to go with five assists. This comes after Russell said sat out Sunday's loss to Denver as part of what the Wolves called "planned rest."

Russell has had a variety of injuries this season and the Wolves' performance staff in the front office doesn't want to put Russell at risk of further injury. To do so, they want to manage his workload going forward and not overtax him, especially as the Wolves enter the busiest part of their schedule.

How does Russell feel about it? After the game, it sounded as if he was on board.

"Going into the summer healthy is a major advantage," Russell said. "For players in our league not having to do rehab, you can gain the edge and work on things you knew you need to work on during the season but you didn't get the time to. I agree with it. I think it's smart and something I'm going to take advantage of."

Russell said he had faith in the Wolves' medical and performance staffs and their recommendations for him.

"I trust what they do," Russell said. "Performance team is great here. Performance team is running professional sports nowadays. They're way more educated than I am in that aspect."
Reid 'cares' a lot
Wolves coach Ryan Saunders stumped for center Naz Reid after the game after Reid had a tough night staying out of foul trouble early. Reid picked up two fouls in the first 1:13 of the game – calls the Wolves didn't necessarily agree with – and finished with six points on 2 of 10 shooting. Saunders sympathized with Reid, who took the performance hard.

"We believe in Naz," Saunders said. "We want to make sure that's known -- that Naz is going to be a very good player because Naz cares. Those fouls, they hurt him because he wants to be on the floor. We really believe in Naz in our organization."