From the moment he signed with the Warriors, D’Angelo Russell has been the subject of trade speculation. It has been reheated in recent weeks as teams approach the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

Although the Warriors politely avoid discussing or leaking details of prospective trades – consistently adhering to team policy – there is no question D-Lo will be traded.

But, according to multiple NBA sources, probably not before next Thursday.

“It’s possible, but I think they’re smart enough to wait until summer to get serious,” one league source told NBC Sports Bay Area on Friday.

“Doubt it,” said another. “The only way it happens is if the Warriors get nervous and accelerate their plan. The old Warriors might have done that. I don’t see these guys doing that?”

There is, according to both sources, a chance the Warriors could engage the Timberwolves, who are ready to shed guard/forward Andrew Wiggins. Russell is good friends with Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns and the two have hinted their desire to be teammates.

Insofar as their salaries are close, a deal with Russell and Wiggins as the centerpieces could work. Russell, 23, is exactly one year younger – both have a Feb. 23 birthday. And Wiggins is a wing in a league where wings are at a premium and where the Warriors have a need.

Wiggins also might be available in June, when both teams are expected to be more inclined to make a trade.

If there is a snag, though, it is that the Warriors are not impressed with the defensive awareness or effectiveness of either man. Having either as a key player forces them into what I refer to as the Lee Hypothesis, so named for ex-Warriors forward David Lee.

There was a time when Lee was their most productive player. He scored and rebounded well enough to collect four or five double-doubles per paycheck. As the Warriors were trudging out of the NBA outback, Lee was submitting numbers nice enough to become the marquee player and, in 2013, their first All-Star Game in 16 years.

D-Lee also was atrocious on defense. He giveth on one end, taketh away on the other. Former coach Mark Jackson once hinted that he felt obligated to stick with Lee because he was the highest-paid player on the team and also known to be a favorite of CEO Joe Lacob.

Jackson believed, as Steve Kerr came to realize after he took over as coach, that the Warriors could not be serious championship contenders if Lee was starting and playing 35 minutes a game at power forward. (I also believed this.)

If David Lee is a key member of the roster, your team is not a serious championship contender.

The Warriors surely realize this also applies to D-Lo and to Wiggins. There are two questions they have to answer to even consider this trade is which one can be best hidden. 1) Which one is easiest to hide? and 2) Which one can best adapt to a reduced role?

That is, at this stage, Wiggins. He has played five playoff games in six seasons, can play off the ball and never been an All-Star. His ego should be more, um, open to changes.

As a member of the Nets last season, Russell was an All-Star replacement. But what on earth is he going to do when he has to surrender ballhandling duties to Stephen Curry and set screens for Klay Thompson?

D-Lo wants the ball in his hands, sometimes for long periods. That might be OK if he’s willing to play the role of Sixth Man. He certainly has the potential to be another Lou Williams.

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But without Andre Iguodala and Thompson, the Warriors realize what they lack on defense. A wing that cares. Russell can’t help them with that. Wiggins at least has a chance.

Assuming a better deal doesn’t land on the Warriors’ table in the coming days or in June. And it likely will.