Timberwolves are the only loser of the massive three-team deal
The Lakers and Jazz both won their three-team trade that also featured the Timberwolves on Wednesday. Minnesota is the only one that looks like a loser.
Los Angeles (25-30, 13th in Western Conference) added three complementary pieces that should be enough to move the Lakers into the West's top 10, if for no other reason than it weakens two teams directly ahead of them.
Utah (27-29, 10th in Western Conference) will likely cut Russell Westbrook and lost three important contributors, but the team added a Lakers 2027 top-four protected first-round pick, giving the team another future first-round pick to add to its trove of draft picks.
The Timberwolves (30-28, ninth in Western Conference), meanwhile, gave away Russell — their starting point guard and a player initially brought in to pair with former first-overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns — to a Lakers team that is 3.5 games behind them in the standings.
Minnesota appears to be going all-in on Anthony Edwards as the future of the franchise. Edwards has taken a leap this season and is averaging a career-high 24.6 points per game, but there's no other way to describe this season as anything but a disaster after the franchise went all-in on Rudy Gobert.
Minnesota gave up four first-round picks — and a 2026 pick swap — to Utah in the Gobert trade, including a 2023 first-round pick.
Russell, 26, is averaging 17.9 points and 6.2 assists per game on 46.5% shooting. The team acquired Mike Conley, 35, in exchange for Russell and he's averaging 10.7 points and 7.7 assists on 40.8% shooting.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker was also included in the trade and he leaves Utah after averaging 6.3 points on 48.8 percent shooting in only 14.7 minutes per game.
Conley's veteran presence might be a positive for the team, but it's hard to spin the trade as a win for Minnesota, especially when considering what the organization gave up to get Russell in the first place.
The Timberwolves initially traded for Russell along with Jacob Evans and Omari Spellman on February 6, 2020 in a deal with the Warriors by sending former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins and 2021 first- and second-round picks to Golden State.
As bad as the trade looks for the Timberwolves, the team got some good news when it blew out the Jazz 143-118 on Wednesday.
Edwards led the way with 31 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
For Minnesota, that result is this trade's only defense.
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