With over a year of speculation that D’Angelo Russell would end up on the Timberwolves, he is finally there. The team gave up a lightly protected first-rounder, in addition to a second-round selection and Andrew Wiggins in exchange for the former No. 2 overall pick.
Outside of Minnesota, the market for Russell wasn’t robust, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN (podcast). The Knicks were rumored to have interest in the guard, but New York was the only other team with an offer for Golden State, per Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.
While it seemed like a deal wouldn’t happen because the two sides were far apart in value, the Wolves did not relent. The franchise remained determined to acquire Russell and continued to look for ways to do so, even speaking with other teams about taking on Wiggins, as I recently reported. In the end, the Warriors were happy to take on Wiggins and the picks for a player whose skillset overlapped with their star point guard, Stephen Curry.
Russell joined the Warriors via the Kevin Durant sign-and-trade over the summer. The franchise surrendered their 2020 first-round pick (protected 1-20) to Brooklyn to accommodate the sign-and-trade. Since it won’t convey this year, that pick will turn into a 2025 second-rounder.
That’s painfully obvious seeing as how he was traded for Andrew Wiggins.
Exactly! Like 95% of Timberwolves fans would have been ok giving up a first round pick just to get Wiggins off the team. He’s a good kid but he just doesn’t really care that much about basketball. Maybe if Curry n Klay get back to winning he can become a highly overpaid but productive piece. Regardless Minnesota has been ready for this breakup for a while now
I do hope it works out great with Russel and KAT. You guys deserve some good basketball. Even though it hurts the draft pick GS gets back.
You have to match salaries…..which I thought was painfully obvious
Idk.. nothing guarantees Minnesotas pick won’t be top 10 next year.
Jeez they could of had a first this year if the Warriors were any good but instead get a 2025 second rounder? Kind of a big difference
Dubs trade Durant, who didnt want to be there, and a 2025 second round pick, for a first rounder, second rounder and Wiggins? Doesnt seem that terrible.
Nets also received a 1st rounder too so there was 0 gain from the trade. Meyers failed with the Russel transaction and is know hoping for a huge upside on Wiggins.
I thought the article said that 1st rounder you mention was protected this year, 1-20 meaning it won’t happen this year and will instead turn into a 2025 2nd rounder, unless I misunderstood.
The one to the Nets is protected and will convert to the second. They also dealt a first to get out of Andres contract so they could get Russell and that one is only top 4 protected so unless they are bad it will be a 1st. Now the 2021 draft is supposed to be good so that may be an advantage. On the flip Iguadala signed an extension with the Heat so he wont return on the MLE this summer.
Its not bad value but Wiggins is not worth anywhere near his contract and will clog up too much cap.
No more cap than Russel and they get two picks. Both players rank very low defensively. Wiggins could fill the old Harrison Barnes roll. Wiggins shot selection and ball movement should be much better as a supporting player. His motivation should grow playing with championship players next year. Think Warriors feel they can grow his talent. Wiggins not a bad talent, just never been on a team or organization like warriors. Think it was better for Warriors than people see now…
Wolves definitely won this trade but don’t think GSW would mind either really.
End of the day thought Russell would be worth more and surprised he didn’t end up somewhere else considering his low price.
Miami also ended up trading Winslow and a first to get Iggy and Gallo…
Miami would’ve been better off giving up Olynyk Winslow and a first for Russell. Would’ve loved to have seen that young core with Nunn Herro Robinson Adebayo with Russell and Butler.
Even the bucks could’ve made a play Bledsloe Conanaughton and a first? 3 team trade Russell to Knicks, Morris to Clippers, Harkless Robinson and couple firsts to GSW
Russell, if you watch the heat, is the exact opposite of a heats Style player.
Those trades for Russell would make those teams worse
The only logic of trading Durant instead of letting him walk in free agency is if the team brass believes that they have little to no chance of signing studs in free agency. Just save the cap space needed for Russell/Wiggins and use it on a better free agent.
This is a great deal for the Wolves because it’s simply to hard to attract stud free agents to Minnesota. Now they have DLo under contract via trade.
Russell is not a stud. Good player but not going to take a team anywhere. No defense at all
No it’s that they don’t have cap room! They got Russell because they had no way of getting cap room to get a max player since they already have 2 plus Draymond. So now they can add Wiggins, who should probably make closer to $16-20 million based on production. But he’s gonna be so much better on Warriors. As a wolves fan I’m jealous. They will get the best version of Wiggles.
Outside of Minn there was no market, and that likely became painfully obvious to GS after the impasse.
On who wins the trade, not sure either team is better or worse off than if GS had just passed on Russell, and Russell signed with Minn for the slightly less than max offer they made.
In that case, GS goes into the trade deadline with Iggy, keeping its 2024 FRP, no Russell, its 2025 SRP, no Hard Cap, already under the tax line, maybe with a MLE-Txp player. They also could have done the S&T just for a TPE (lose the same 2025 SRP, but no Hard Cap). Iggy and change for Wiggins and Minn 2021 FRP and SRP-? I’m guessing they’d go in a different direction, but who knows? Better or worse off? I’d say better because they’d have the 2024 FRP at least either way, and might have Wiggins / Minn picks if they want them.
Minn has Russell already, for a little less, but has a rising tax problem, with 3 max or max lite long term contracts going forward, and Dieng, RoCo, etc. Dumping Wiggins may not be the only solution, but if it’s the one they elect, it would cost them at least at or about a 2021 FRP and SRP with very light protection. More options, but not a fundamentally different position.
So, the real winner is Memphis. GSW I think would not have done the Iggy-Russell moves if they had a crystal ball. For Minn, it’s turned about neutral, after a lot of motion.
If Wolves has just wanted to get rid of Wiggins they would not have had to trade a first with him to do it. Especially with how he’s grown this year – and believe me I know it’s not enough, but it shows enough that a team would definitely take a chance on his upside to fulfill close to his contract value
Disagree. In fact, more than one 1st (although perhaps with better protection). I don’t think you know the market for unloading 94 mm of future salary to a below average player (young and improving or not). Simply too many years and $$ for anyone to take without being compensated.
However Wigs’ value would suffer from Minny’s downturn, fair or not. I wonder if an instruction-heeding Wiggins is even better than a Wiggins just trying to be dangerous. Wolves fans are questioning his heart nowadays– possibly another way of saying that, at least in the Midwest. There are other choices (like gave up on him; blame him for the turnaround; or Towns did).
Riley expressed a real interest in Green at the deadline. Wouldn’t be surprised if a draft day trade of Iggy, 1st for Green happens in June.
I thought the Sixers may have made a push to trade for him and it would have meant trading half the scrub bench. Richardson, Scott, Smith, Bolden, Neto. O’Quinn plus 2 1sts. And that still a worse return than Wiggins. Put a 1% chance of it happening, but consensus was drafting him over Okafor 100% so I think they’ve always been interested in acquiring him.