All Things Minnesota Timberwolves 2022-2023 In-Season Thread

It a done deal. D’Angelo Russell traded to the Lakers.



Also in deal: Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones to Jazz, Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Timberwolves, sources said.




Minnesota gets 2024 lesser of Washington-Memphis second round pick and 2025 and 2026 second-round picks via Utah, sources tell ESPN.







 

ESPN just referenced it too.

ESPN Sources: The Lakers are finalizing deal to land Minnesota’s D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt in trade including Mike Conley and picks to Timberwolves and Russell Westbrook and a lightly protected 2027 LA first-round pick to Jazz.

Also in deal: Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones to Jazz, Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Timberwolves, sources said.

Minnesota gets 2024 lesser of Washington-Memphis second round pick and 2025 and 2026 second-round picks via Utah, sources tell ESPN.
 

It a done deal. D’Angelo Russell traded to the Lakers.



Also in deal: Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones to Jazz, Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Timberwolves, sources said.



Minnesota gets 2024 lesser of Washington-Memphis second round pick and 2025 and 2026 second-round picks via Utah, sources tell ESPN.

Yeah, color me surprised. :drink:

Worth noting that the Lakers get 3 former Timberwolves in the deal. D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt.

And Connelly turned Russell into Mike Conley, 3- 2nd Round picks and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Begs the question, anybody heard of Nickeil Alexander-Walker?:)
 
Last edited:

Wow! Conley, 3 2nd rounders and a young unproven player for D-Lo. I like.

I don't like the Lakers getting a lot better. They crushed the trade.
 

Yeah, color me surprised. :drink:

Worth noting that the Lakers get 3 former Timberwolves in the deal. D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt.

And Connelly turned Russell into Mike Conley, 3- 2nd Round picks and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Begs the question, anybody heard of Nickeil Alexander-Walker?:)
I kind of liked him in the Culver disaster draft. Completely forgot about him since. Known as a shooter.
 


I kind of liked him in the Culver disaster draft. Completely forgot about him since. Known as a shooter.
Thanks.

Looking at his stats, seems he was decent in New Orleans but once he got to Utah they didn't play him much.
 


Marnie and Kevin Lynch just said that they Wolves will be without Russell, Gobert, Rivers and Anderson tonight. While the Jazz will be without Conley, Beasley, Vanderbilt and Nickeil Alexander-Walker

Could be interesting but could be a pretty awful game too.
 
Last edited:






Josh Minott........HMMMMM
 
Last edited:






"Unfortunately, things ended badly for Beasley and Pippen, and she put him on blast when he decided to go back to his baby mama Montana Yao."

Yao was with Beasley in that drug and guns incident up in Plymouth in September 2020.
 

Per Shooter:

Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, the business partners who 18 months ago agreed to buy the Timberwolves and Lynx from Glen Taylor for $1.5 billion, have received permission from Taylor to delay a second $200 million payment that was due five weeks ago.

The reason for the delay is unclear. The second $200 million payment is now due on March 28. By the end of the year, another payment, expected to be more than $400 million that would include buying out the teams’ limited partners, will be due.

Rodriguez on Wednesday told Taylor he and Lore still plan to buy the Wolves and Lynx and will be able to finance the deal.

The NBA’s board of directors hasn’t yet approved the sale.

Taylor doesn’t seem concerned by the missed payment. If the deal falls through, he probably would retain ownership of his teams rather than put them back on the market. In December, an agreement to buy the Phoenix Suns and WNBA Mercury was reached for a record $4 billion. Since Taylor’s agreement to sell to Rodriguez and Lore, four NBA teams have sold for at least $2 billion.


Howl Wolves!!
The reason for the delay is they don't have the money.
 

Marnie and Kevin Lynch just said that they Wolves will be without Russell, Gobert, Rivers and Anderson tonight. While the Jazz will be without Conley, Beasley, Vanderbilt and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

Could be interesting but could be a pretty awful game too.

The undermanned Wolves (30-28) without Russell, Gobert, Rivers and Anderson beat the undermanned Jazz (27-29), without Conley, Beasley, Vanderbilt and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, 143-118.

Wolves and Jazz both will have a day off before they play at Memphis and Toronto respectively, on Friday.
 

I have always liked Conley's game. I don't know anything about the other guy. I was really hoping that they would be able to bring back a first round pick but preserving that salary slot is also important. I won't miss DLo and his inconsistent, frequently lackadaisical play.
 

The Athletic is very high on Wolves end of this deal, giving us an A-, best grade of the 3 teams:

Wolves receive Mike Conley Jr., Nickeil Alexander-Walker, 2024, 2025 and 2026 second-round picks​

This is a massive upgrade at the point guard position for the Wolves as long as Conley can stay healthy. That’s the tricky part. He’s already missed 12 games this season. He missed 10 last year and 21 the year before and hasn’t missed single-digit games in a season since 2013-14. He’s as solid as they come at playing point guard on both ends of the floor, but his availability is often a problem. For a Wolves team battling a ton of injuries and missed games this season, that’s pretty difficult to rely on.

As for the fit with Conley, this will be so much better for the Wolves, even if his numbers aren’t as sexy as what Russell puts up. Back when the Jazz were trying to compete on a grander scale, they played way better basketball with Conley on the court, and that was a pretty deep and loaded team (even though they faltered in the postseason). I would wager Conley starts seeing more of that type of impact on/off the court with a team like Minnesota that is hoping to be far more competitive and successful than this current Jazz team.

Conley has a good history with Rudy Gobert, often as the guard who had no problem passing to him. He would do more of what Donovan Mitchellcouldn’t and find the passing angles or passing gumption to send that thing into the big man. Conley’s shot making has taken a bit of a hit, but he’s also not playing with a ton of options to take away attention this season. He’s still a 41 percent 3-point shooter on catch-and-shoot opportunities, so he can help spread the floor. He also doesn’t need the ball in his hands as much as Russell did, so it allows Anthony Edwards to have the ball more. That’s something people have been hoping to see because of the way his game is flourishing.

One thing to watch is how Karl-Anthony Townstakes this news. Russell is one of his closest friends, so if Towns is upset at this move, maybe that has ramifications down the road. Or maybe he just accepts it as part of the business and understands this late into his career.

How does Alexander-Walker fit into their plans? He’s shown some flashes in New Orleans and some flashes in Utah. He’s a 6-foot-6 wing with good playmaking skills, and he’s shot the ball well this season in limited minutes. He has some pretty solid block and steal rates for a wing too. He just plays very raw still, and he’ll have to clean up mistakes to ensure time on the Wolves this season. He still has a lot of potential though.
Also, the Wolves held strong to make sure they brought back some draft capital here. It may not be a first-round pick, but them grabbing something is actually a decent negotiating win for Tim Connelly. That’s much better value.

Grade: A-


Howl Wolves!!
 

Crazy game tonight. Garza, Nowell, Minott! Heard a rumor we still are in on Bones Hyland which would be great.
 

Crazy game tonight. Garza, Nowell, Minott! Heard a rumor we still are in on Bones Hyland which would be great.
The wolves are considering Minott their first round pick for next year. I know that sounds kind of stupid, but they were developing him this year as a part for next year.
 



The wolves are considering Minott their first round pick for next year. I know that sounds kind of stupid, but they were developing him this year as a part for next year.
If that were the case, why would they wait until the 56th game of the year before they gave him any kind of a run with the parent club? It also doesn't look like they have focused on developing his body. It's obvious that he's a tremendous athlete and he has some skills. He's just as skinny as the day they drafted him.
 

Wow! Conley, 3 2nd rounders and a young unproven player for D-Lo. I like.

I don't like the Lakers getting a lot better. They crushed the trade.
We also get to kick the can on that salary slot for another year. It probably doesn't net us anything but it could be massive if the right situation presents itself.
 

If that were the case, why would they wait until the 56th game of the year before they gave him any kind of a run with the parent club? It also doesn't look like they have focused on developing his body. It's obvious that he's a tremendous athlete and he has some skills. He's just as skinny as the day they drafted him.
Not that I agree with that poster's take, but it's not like their actual first round pick last year got (Wendall Moore) has gotten any serious run this year either. They seem to be treating them pretty much the same.
 

I kind of liked him in the Culver disaster draft. Completely forgot about him since. Known as a shooter.
His shooting is likely fools gold. He is a career low 30's shooter and while his percentage is high this year, it's largely due to a one week torrid stretch where he shot 60% on high volume. If you take that week out of this year, he's back to ~%33.

I think his biggest asset is that he's guard depth, he is larger and more athletic than Forbes and could definitely mean we are moving Nowell for anything we can get today (I hope).
 

Yeah, color me surprised. :drink:

Worth noting that the Lakers get 3 former Timberwolves in the deal. D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt.

And Connelly turned Russell into Mike Conley, 3- 2nd Round picks and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Begs the question, anybody heard of Nickeil Alexander-Walker?:)
I find it really odd that the Jazz gave up Beasley, Conley, Vanderbilt, NAW and a bunch of 2nds for Westbrook and protected first round pick.

Not to be conspiratorial, but it just seems strange that the Lakers were able to turn Westbrook and a protected first into role players that will actually help them and DLo. DLo is a much better player than Westbrook and also on an expiring contract.
 

If that were the case, why would they wait until the 56th game of the year before they gave him any kind of a run with the parent club? It also doesn't look like they have focused on developing his body. It's obvious that he's a tremendous athlete and he has some skills. He's just as skinny as the day they drafted him.
That was the whole point.....trying to develop his game and body. He's played in Iowa quite a bit.

He'd be a great bench guy for energy, etc.

Hell, his 10 rebounds last night is 4 games worth for McDaniels.
 

I find it really odd that the Jazz gave up Beasley, Conley, Vanderbilt, NAW and a bunch of 2nds for Westbrook and protected first round pick.

Not to be conspiratorial, but it just seems strange that the Lakers were able to turn Westbrook and a protected first into role players that will actually help them and DLo. DLo is a much better player than Westbrook and also on an expiring contract.

Certainly feels like that doesn't it? All the talk about the trade has been "Lakers, Lakers, Lakers" and how this trade will set them up for a playoff run. Even if a majority of the expert analysis says the Wolves came out of this trade very well. That said Westbrook is basically a contract at this stage. Think Utah will buy him out. Can't see Ainge letting Westbrook on the court in Utah. A place where Westbrook has some bad history.

Maybe it was truly a confluence of interests. Wolves didn't want to give Russell an extension. Lakers wanted to get rid of Westbrook & strengthen a horrible bench and Ainge wanted to clear the deck of players for all those high draft picks he's acquired. Almost as if he's pissed at how well the team has played this year.

All that said, would have been leaned far more toward a conspiracy for me if Kyrie Irving had ended-up where LeBron and he desperately wanted him to be. That would be in a Laker uniform.
 

Anyone think wolves make another move? They have to at least cut one person.

Wouldnt be surprised to see Naz, Prince, or Nowell get traded. Forbes will probably be the guy that gets waived if thats the route they go
 




Top Bottom