Three teams in the vicinity of the Warriors in the standings, on the fringes of the playoffs, swung a trade deadline deal that could clarify certain teams’ directions in the second half.
According to multiple reports, the Lakers, Jazz and Timberwolves are finalizing a deal to swap veteran point guards and other valuable assets. The Lakers are sending Russell Westbrook and a lightly protected future first round pick to Utah in exchange for scorer Malik Beasley, versatile forward Jared Vanderbilt and Minnesota’s D’Angelo Russell, who began his career with LA. The Timberwolves, meanwhile, are getting Utah point guard Mike Conley Jr.
LeBron James has historically been vocal and involved in personnel decisions, and he recently voiced his disappointment that his team couldn’t land Kyrie Irving. This trade may be a Plan B effort by the organization to appease him.
Former Warrior Juan Toscano-Anderson, notably, is in the fine print of the trade, heading from Los Angeles to Utah.
The Lakers, who lost Tuesday night despite James breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record, are 25-30 and 13th in the West. But acquiring Russell represents a commitment to making a playoff push this year. Utah is 27-28 and may take a step back with Westbrook, while Minnesota sits half a game behind the Warriors (28-26).
Perhaps the glossiest asset that moved hands is the Lakers’ 2027 first-round pick. Although it’s top-four protected, that pick could very well be in the lottery given James will likely be retired by then and Anthony Davis can hit free agency two years prior.
Sifting through the point guard shuffle inspires questions of fit — both on the court and in terms of a franchise’s direction.
By adding Westbrook, Utah may be signaling they want to take a step back and enter the draft lottery; on the other hand, they may find Westbrook’s competitive complementary to their young pace-and-space roster.
Minnesota dealing Russell for Conley means they’re admitting that a core of Russell, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns — even with Rudy Gobert — can’t hold up enough defensively to compete.
And the Lakers are giving up on the failed Russell Westbrook experiment that began with a heinously lopsided trade in favor of Washington.
Russell, who played half a season for the Warriors, has been shooting the ball well recently (46.3% from 3 in January), but Conley presents a sturdier hand for Minnesota’s unproven core. He still could be an upgrade in fit for the Lakers as a better off-ball shooter than Westbrook, plus adding Vanderbilt and Beasley significantly lifts Los Angeles’ roster.
If the Lakers force their way into the playoffs, they’d likely have to knock one of Utah, the sliding Pelicans, Minnesota or Golden State out. Since the Lakers (and potentially the Timberwolves) may have just improved, the next few weeks without Stephen Curry (knee) become even more critical.
The NBA trade deadline is Thursday, Feb. 9, at noon.