The Golden State Warriors have agreed to send D’Angelo Russell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
The two teams have been dancing around a potential trade for weeks but the Warriors were reportedly not pleased with what the Wolves were initially able to offer.
The agreed upon trade will send Russell to Minnesota to team up with friend Karl-Anthony Towns while the Warriors recoup Andrew Wiggins, whose contract had to be included to make the deal legal, a protected first-round pick in 2021 and a 2022 second-rounder.
Also involved in the trade are Jacob Evans and Omari Spellman, who will head to Minnesota.
| To MIN | To GSW |
| D’Angelo Russell | Andrew Wiggins |
| Omari Spellman | 2021 1st |
| Jacob Evans | 2022 2nd |
Related: View SLAM’s complete 2020 NBA Trade Deadline Tracker
The protected first that the Warriors will acquire will have top-3 protection on it in 2021 and will become unprotected entirely in 2022 if it doesn’t convey.
The move comes amid mounting evidence that Towns, the Timberwolves cornerstone, is growing more frustrated by the day. The pairing of Towns and Wiggins didn’t yield success on the court and now, at least, he’ll get the opportunity to try to win some ball games alongside Russell.
While Wiggins was the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Russell is the one that has developed into a star.
Russell’s stint with the Brooklyn Nets established him as a reliable offensive focal point and you could argue that he gives the Wolves a similar offensive catalyst to what they had briefly with Jimmy Butler.
What isn’t clear yet is why the Warriors had a sudden change of heart. The acquisition of Wiggins doesn’t give the team any additional financial flexibility considering that he’s under contract through 2023-24.
Alas, on paper the idea of an athlete such as Wiggins chipping in on a dominant Warriors team that will return Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson next season is a scary thought. A move to the Bay Area could be the best thing for Wiggins’ career.
It is possible that Golden State’s apparent unwillingness to deal Russell was simple posturing, as the deal they ultimately agreed to isn’t any more lucrative than the one that was in play ahead of the four-team mega-trade that eventually went down involving the Denver Nuggets instead.
More to come.
