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-
D'Angelo Russell is heading to L.A., but the other two pieces bound for the Lakers could be the real key here.
theathletic.com
Howl Wolves!!
