The Golden State Warriors traded star guard D’Angelo Russell to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday in exchange for Andrew Wiggins and two draft picks — a blockbuster deal completed hours before the NBA trade deadline.
Russell, the second overall pick in the 2015 draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, joined the Warriors in the offseason as part of a sign-and-trade from the Brooklyn Nets involving Kevin Durant. Now, just months later, he has been rerouted to Minnesota, where he’ll join close friend and star Karl-Anthony Towns as the Wolves look to rebuild their franchise.
As part of the deal, Golden State will receive a top-3-protected pick in 2021 and a second-round pick in 2022. It will also take a flier on Wiggins, the former first overall pick in 2014 who has yet to fully pan out.
The trade was first reported by ESPN:
Timberwolves 2021 pick protected to No. 3, and becomes unprotected in 2022, per sources. Minnesota kept pushing for Russell, who it has wanted since summer free agency and finally got the point guard Gerssson Rosas imagined pairing with KAT. https://t.co/kfDNvsdBHX
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2020
Russell was an All-Star last season with the Nets.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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