SALT LAKE CITY — As the Timberwolves prepared for their game against Utah, some players were in the locker room, listening to music. Others were working out. But for almost all of them, their stuff was strewn about their lockers, except for one — D'Angelo Russell. His scouting report was still on his chair, and his stall appeared untouched, jersey hanging on the side.
That will likely be the last time Russell's name is in the Wolves locker room, as the Wolves struck a deal to send Russell to the Lakers in a three-team trade that will bring veteran point guard Mike Conley to Minnesota, a source confirmed Wednesday.
The other part of the trade is a pair of former Wolves — Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley, both of whom were traded together just before the deadline to Minnesota in 2020 and were traded out in the Rudy Gobert deal last summer — would be part of the package going from Utah to the Lakers. The Wolves are also receiving Jazz shooting guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker and three second-round picks from the Jazz in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Russell Westbrook reportedly will be on his way to the Jazz.
The trade will reunite Gobert with Conley, the point guard who was with him in Utah for the last three seasons, and bring to end the Wolves tenure for Russell, who former President Gersson Rosas billed as the franchise's future point guard in 2020 when he acquired him from Golden State. The Wolves were in Utah to face the Jazz on Wednesday night.
In a recent interview with the Star Tribune, Wolves President Tim Connelly said there were "plenty of scenarios" where Russell was the Wolves' point guard moving forward. But the Wolves are also trying to maximize the fit around Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns while navigating an offense that will likely feature Anthony Edwards as the focal point.
That future will likely include having a point guard who is more facilitator than shooter, and Conley would represent that.
"He has poise on the floor, he understands time and score. He's played in a lot of big games," Jazz coach Will Hardy said before the game. "He's been in a lot of big moments as a point guard and so he's somebody that's a real stabilizer."
Conley, who is averaging 10.7 points and 7.7 assists on 8.7 shot attempts per game, has a career usage rate of 21.5%, which is lower than Russell's 27.5% mark. Usage rate represents how much of a team's possessions end with a certain player weither shooting the ball, turning it over or going to the free-throw line. Russell is averaging 17.9 points and 6.2 assists on 13.5 attempts per game.
The streaky Russell has helped the Wolves win several games so far this season with his career-best shooting year from 3-point range (39%), a number that has raised Russell's profile around the league. Conley is shooting 36% from deep and is a career 38% shooter.
Another reason to do the trade from the Wolves' point of view revolves around the salary slot occupied by Russell and their relationship to the salary cap and luxury tax. Russell, who is making just over $31 million in the final year of his contract, could have walked from the Wolves this summer in free agency. Conley has one year remaining on a deal that pays him $22.7 million this season and $24.4 million next season.
The Wolves are a team currently operating above the cap but below the luxury tax, and the NBA restricts teams' ability to sign free agents when a team is above the cap, but teams can make trades and swap salaries in and out while operating this way.
The Wolves would only be able to sign free agents up to the limit of the salary cap next season if Russell walked. Getting Conley preserves that salary slot for the Wolves to still operate above the cap and below the tax next season. Conley's deal would also expire right as the supermax extension for Towns kicks in and lucrative extensions for Edwards and Jaden McDaniels would begin, should the Wolves agree to new deals with both.
The Wolves would be getting the more senior point guard in the deal, with Russell about to turn 27 and Conley at 35.
For as hot as Russell ran at times, he could also run cold on offense, and if he did, he tended to be a liability given his effort on the defensive end was inconsistent.
Fair or not, one of the lasting memories from Russell's time in Minnesota will be Game 6 of the Wolves' playoff series against Memphis, when coach Chris Finch decided to bench a struggling Russell for Jordan McLaughlin, who was making about 1/15th of Russell's salary.
At this point in his career, Russell is a known commodity. Teams know what they'll get from him on both ends of the floor. The Lakers, who selected Russell with the No. 2 overall pick in 2015, seem to be willing to bet he can provide some needed shooting alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis despite the flaws in his game. The Wolves are trending in an entirely different direction than when Russell, and now the two have parted ways.
