Minutes before the Wolves and Jazz tipped off the news of the D’Angelo Russell trade broke, throwing social media into a frenzy with every on-call armchair general manager announcing their reaction on social media.
The trade: Russell to the Lakers and now-former Jazz guard and forward Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker to Minnesota, with the Lakers also getting Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley from the Jazz and Russell Westbrook going to Utah. Oh, and the Wolves got three future second-round draft picks.
Filtering through the armchair GM comments are plenty of impactful reactions. One that stands out above most is that of Timberwolves legend Kevin Garnett, who loves the trade for all three teams and called Conley a “culture guy and a leader.”
Lakers got shooting, scoring and athletic wing. Wolves got a culture guy and a leader. Danny free’d up bread and got a pick. And Russ getting free! Hell of a move for everybody 💯 🎇
— Kevin Garnett (@KevinGarnett5KG) February 9, 2023
Former Wolves guard Patrick Beverly tweeted “The gang is Back” after the Lakers acquired Beasley and Vanderbilt. The three were teammates in 2021-22 in Minnesota before all three were traded to the Jazz in the Rudy Gobert blockbuster deal last summer.
The gang is Back❤️ https://t.co/LCxJY1GfDI
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) February 9, 2023
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon offered some positive analysis for the Wolves, saying that Gobert will be a “big beneficiary of the three-team trade.”
“[Gobert and Conley] developed a good chemistry in Utah, where they were paired in the sub patterns,” MacMahon wrote.
One big beneficiary of the three-team trade being discussed that would send Mike Conley Jr. to Minnesota: Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert. They developed a good chemistry in Utah, where they were paired in the sub patterns.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) February 8, 2023
The question now is if Minnesota’s talented rotation, which could include Karl-Anthony Towns after the All-Star break, is good enough to hang with the suddenly stacked Western Conference elites.
Kevin Durant being traded to the Suns gives Phoenix a monster big four of Durant, Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton. The Lakers, though currently out of the playoff picture, have LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell and more shooting and depth than they had 24 hours ago. And the Mavericks boast the 1-2 punch of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
All of them are chasing Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.
