The Wolves made the playoffs in 2022, but only recently have Russell and Edwards truly clicked after coach Chris Finch made Edwards the primary ball-handler and moved Russell into an off-ball position to better maximize his shooting ability. ![]() The Wolves drafted Anthony Edwards with the first overall pick in 2020, integrating another high-impact offensive player into the lineup whose value is minimized without frequent touches. The Russell-Towns pairing never really took off, in part because of injuries for each player that often kept them from being on the court at the same time. 2020 and teamed him with his draft-class pal, Karl-Anthony Towns. The Wolves eventually acquired Russell at the deadline in Feb. The Timberwolves courted Russell hard when he was on the market in July 2019, when Brooklyn ultimately landed on a sign-and-trade deal that sent Kevin Durant to the Nets and shipped Russell to Golden State. His style on both ends of the court also could complement James and Davis better than Westbrook, although the Lakers will have little time to figure it out. Russell is averaging 17.9 points, 6.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds while hitting a career-best 46.5% of his shots with Minnesota in the final year of a contract paying him more than $31 million this season. With Russell Westbrook's time in Los Angeles reportedly over via trade, it appears he's headed for a potential buyout with the Jazz. Russell is now being traded for the fourth time in his eight NBA seasons. Russell was a rookie during Kobe Bryant’s final season, and the point guard was the most consistently entertaining part of two poor Lakers teams before Magic Johnson traded him to Brooklyn in 2017. Several months after the Lakers infuriated a large portion of their worldwide fan base by not trading Westbrook in the summer, they swapped him for Russell, who played his first two NBA seasons with the Lakers after they chose him with the second overall pick in the 2015 draft. The 34-year-old Westbrook is making about $47 million in the final year of his contract. Westbrook averaged 17.4 points, 7.2 assists, 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 turnovers per game during his time in Los Angeles, where fans grumbled regularly about his poor shooting and turnovers. The 2017 NBA MVP never thrived with James and injury-plagued Anthony Davis for any significant stretch of time, struggling to mold his possession-heavy game into a more complementary role.Ī move to the bench last fall led to minor improvements over a dismal 2021-22 season, but Westbrook still appeared profoundly uncomfortable with the Lakers, who are in danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight year. Westbrook’s tenure with his hometown team lasted just 130 tumultuous games. ![]() NEWS: Minnesota Acquire Guards Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker from Utah JazzĬonley will wear #10 and Alexander-Walker will be #9. ![]() In a separate move, the Timberwolves waived Bryn Forbes to make room for their new additions. The Lakers are sending Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and their first-round pick in 2027 to Utah with Westbrook. The Lakers fell to 25-30 on Tuesday while James set the NBA’s career scoring record, and they sit in 13th place in the 15-team Western Conference. Los Angeles is also getting guard Malik Beasley and forward Jarred Vanderbilt from the Jazz, bolstering its core around LeBron James in a bid to jump-start its sputtering season. Minnesota is getting Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker from Utah, along with three second-round picks, it was announced Thursday. LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Lakers have traded Russell Westbrook to Utah and reacquiring guard D’Angelo Russell from Minnesota in a three-team, eight-player deal. The Lakers, Timberwolves and Jazz are finalizing a 3-team trade that could shake up the Western Conference playoff race.
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