According to NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Timberwolves just ended the Andrew Wiggins era. And are bringing in D'Angelo Russell from Golden State.
Fox Sports North analyst Jim Peterson joined Chad Hartman to talk about the trade and said that he was excited about how Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo, who are friends, would combine on the court.
“You can have them in all different kinds of actions and D'Angelo is going to be, I think, Minnesota's version of James Harden in terms of being able to be creative as a go-to guy, as a guy that can create his own shot and that can create for himself and others. So from that standpoint, this is a big day,” Peterson said.
Wiggins has been a source of frustration for fans since coming here in a trade. The former #1 pick in the NBA Draft never quite lived up to expectations, even after signing a max contract in 2017. Wiggins is averaging 22 points a game so far this season.
This comes on the heels of another trade which sent Robert Covington to Houston, plus three other Timberwolves, Noah Vonleh and Jordan Bell, forward Keita Bates-Diop and guard Shabazz Napier, off to Denver. That trade, thought to be a move that cleared salary cap space, turned out to be the opening to get this deal done with Golden State.
D'Angelo Russell has been a buddy of Karl-Anthony Towns, and the team tried to get him here over the summer. Russell instead signed with Golden State. So far this season, Russell is averaging 23 points a game, with 6.2 assists for a Warriors team that has really struggled without stars Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.