MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves have taken on yet another new look, with D'Angelo Russell on his way to join pal Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins heading west to the Golden State Warriors.
In a swap of high scorers consummated just a few hours before the NBA deadline on Thursday, the Timberwolves acquired the dynamic point guard they'd been seeking for awhile in Russell and pulled the plug on their development of Wiggins, the mercurial first overall pick of the 2014 draft.
The deal also sent two little-used Golden State players, guard Jacob Evans and forward Omari Spellman, to the Timberwolves and routed two draft picks to the Warriors. They'll get Minnesota's first-rounder and second-rounder in 2021, unless the first-rounder is in the top three. Then it would roll over to 2022.
Timberwolves GM Gersson Rosas has reportedly talked about swinging a deal for Russell since the beginning of the season. The 23-year-old point guard is averaging nearly 24 points and more than 6 assists a game in 32 minutes playing time. Nearly as important is the fact that Russell is a good friend of Wolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, and the two have talked about playing together.
Wiggins was selected by Minnesota as the top overall pick in the 2014 draft. Over his career the 6 foot 8 inch guard has averaged nearly 20 points and 4.3 rebounds a game, but has been seen by some as an underachiever. Wiggins signed a max-deal extension in 2017, for a reported $148 million.
