Reports: Jazz Acquire Westbrook, Send Conley To Wolves
Feb 8, 2023, 6:20 PM | Updated: Feb 9, 2023, 2:33 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz are sending point guard Mike Conley to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a three-team, multi-player trade involving D’Angelo Russell and Russell Westbrook of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Jazz are sending Conley to Minnesota along with Nickeil Alexander-Walker, while Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt will be sent to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Timberwolves will ship Russell to the Lakers as Westbrook heads to the Jazz along with a top-4 protected 2027 first round pick.
Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski reported the deal shortly before the Jazz faced the Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
According to Wojnarowski, the Jazz will also acquire Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones.
Also in deal: Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones to Jazz, Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Timberwolves, sources said.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2023
Conley, 35, was originally acquired by the Jazz in the summer of 2019 in exchange for Jae Crowder, Grayson Allen, Kyle Korver, Darius Bazely, and a first round pick.
The veteran guard appeared in 213 games for the Jazz during his time in Utah and made three trips to the Western Conference Playoffs.
Conley also earned his first All-Star appearance in 2021 in Atlanta joining teammates Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert as the Jazz finished with the best regular season record in the NBA.
The guard will rejoin Gobert in Minnesota after the two teams completed a blockbuster trade for the All-Star center last July.
According to Wojnarowski, Minnesota will also get a 2024 lesser of Washington-Memphis second-round pick and 2025 and 2026 second-round picks from the Jazz.
Vanderbilt, Beasley Heading To Lakers
Beasley, 26, was originally acquired by the Jazz in the summer of 2022 in exchange for All-Star center Rudy Gobert.
The sharpshooting guard appeared in all 55 games for the Jazz this season including 13 starts, the only player on the roster who has yet to miss a game.
Vanderbilt, 23, appeared in 53 games for the Jazz this season including 41 starts before being replaced by rookie center Walker Kessler.
Vanderbilt and Beasley were key pieces in the blockbuster trade for Gobert. The Jazz also acquired Leandro Bolmaro, Patrick Beverley, and Kessler, in addition to first-round draft picks in 2023, 2025, 2027, and 2029.
Jazz Acquiring Westbrook, Two Others
The Jazz are acquiring Russell Westbrook in the trade, though the future Hall of Fame guard is expected to be waived by team shortly after the deal is finalized.
Westbrook is averaging 15.9 points, 7.5 assists, and 6.2 rebounds for the Lakers this season coming off the bench.
Despite his strong averages, Westbrook is shooting just 41 percent from the floor and 29 percent from the three-point line.
The guard was acquired by the Lakers in the summer of 2021, but the team finished with a disappointing 33-49 record and missed the playoffs.
This year the Lakers are off to another slow start at 25-30 and are once again in danger of being left out of the postseason race.
Juan Toscano-Anderson will join the Jazz after signing with the Lakers last summer. The wing has appeared in only 30 games averaging 2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds.
Center Damian Jones has averaged 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 22 appearances with Los Angeles.
Russell Returns To Lakers
The Lakers are requiring D’Angelo Russell after the team traded the guard to the Brooklyn Nets for Kyle Kuzma and Brook Lopez in the summer of 2017.
Russell spent the first two years of his career in Los Angeles after being the number two overall pick in the 2015 draft.
The guard was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team in 2019 but was traded to the Golden State Warriors the next season in a sign-and-trade for superstar Kevin Durant.
Russell was then rerouted to the Timberwolves where he’s been a steady rotation player for the last three years.
Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
