The transfer, which involves three franchises, will bring Beasley and Vanderbilt to the Los Angeles ranks
The Jazz will also receive Damian Jones and a 2027 first round, and Conley goes to Minnesota with two second rounds.
The Los Angeles Lakers are about to sign D’Angelo Russellof the Minnesota Timberwolves, in an operation that involves three franchises and that will bring Russell Westbrook and Mexican Juan Toscano Anderson to the Utah Jazz. The operation was brought forward by the ‘ESPN’ chain and picked up by NBA television a few hours after the closing of the US league market, scheduled this Thursday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time.
The Lakers have reached an agreement to sign Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt in a trade that will bring Mike Conley and a draft pick to the Timberwolves and Westbrook, Toscano Anderson, Damian Jones and a 2027 draft pick to the Jazz. D’Angelo Russell, 26, is averaging 17.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game for the Timberwolves this year. He will return to the Lakers, his team selected him in the 2015 draft, and he will once again share the locker room with Patrick Beverly, his teammate in Minnesota.
For his part, Westbrook will end his career with the Lakers, to whom he arrived in the summer of 2021 in exchange for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Kuzma. Westbrook, 34, was going to form a star trio with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but he never managed to adapt to the Los Angeles franchise. After the failed classification to the ‘playoffs’ last year, Westbrook saw his role diminish with the arrival of Darvin Ham and lost a place in the starting five. This season, Westbrook contributed 15.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 7.5 assists on average per game.