The Golden State Warriors have agreed to trade shooting guard D'Angelo Russell, Omari Spellman, and Jacob Evans to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Andrew Wiggins, a 2021 protected first-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Timberwolves 2021 pick is protected up to the No. 3 overall selection and will become unprotected in 2022. Minnesota has kept a steadfast push for Russell, a player they have wanted since free agency, creating the tandem president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas first envisioned next to franchise player Karl-Anthony Towns.
Minnesota had pushed and pushed with different iterations of a potential deal, always keeping Wiggins as the centerpiece to make the salaries match.
While this deal brings two longtime friends together on one side, it also brings the prospect of teaming up Wiggins with a winning backcourt in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Many Warriors fans are concerned about how an inefficient and unproven a shooter Wiggins has been throughout his career, though some others believe the young wing can benefit from a fresh start in a new system.
Golden State played its cards right, with a stone-faced approach to the deadline and seeming under no pressure to trade Russell. Once they did pull the trigger, they bundled Omari Spellman, who rebuilt a lot of value in half a season under Steve Kerr, along with Jacob Evans, who had failed to develop as a future point guard.
The Warriors have also amassed three second-round picks from trading Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III to the Philadelphia 76ers, now possessing a war chest of future selections that can be flipped alongside Wiggins if he proves a poor fit in the remainder of the season.
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