The NBA trade deadline might not be until 3 p.m. EST on Thursday, but a trade has already been completed as per Shams Charania of The Athletic. The trade involves the Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz. In the deal, the Lakers will be acquiring D'Angelo Russell from the Timberwolves and Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt from the Jazz. The Jazz will be acquiring Russell Westbrook from the Lakers and the Timberwolves will be acquiring Mike Conley Jr. from the Jazz. The Jazz will also receive a first round pick in the trade while the Wolves will receive a second-round pick.
The move comes after season-long speculation about the Lakers trading Russell Westbrook before the NBA trade deadline. Although last season, Westbrook's first with the Lakers, did not go very smoothly, he had seemingly reinvented his game as a sixth man this season albeit not shooting particularly well from the field. The Lakers will be reunited with D'Angelo Russell whom the team drafted with the 2nd overall pick in the 2015 draft. He should slot right into the starting lineup. The Lakers will also get nice bench depth with Beasley who can be a sixth man himself and Vanderbilt who is one of the league's better backup centers.
For the Timberwolves, it was reported that they were looking to move Russell and they have their replacement in Mike Conley. Conley is still capable of being a starting caliber point guard and he will help the team as they continue to make a push for playoff seeding in the Western Conference.
For the Jazz, the first round pick is the real prize for them. They likely will agree to a buyout with Westbrook and it's never a bad thing to acquire more draft assets.