Chicago Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine is back in Minnesota on Wednesday, although he won't be playing against the Timberwolves because of a quad injury.
The Timberwolves traded LaVine, Kris Dunn and a draft pick (which turned into Lauri Markkanen) for Jimmy Butler back on draft day in 2017. Butler only lasted one season with the Timberwolves before requesting a trade, so most pundits feel like the Bulls won the trade, and LaVine is having an excellent year in Chicago.
Karl-Anthony Towns is the only guy left on the Timberwolves from the early days of the LaVine-Towns-Andrew Wiggins trio. LaVine says it's easy to wonder what could have happened if the Timberwolves kept him in Minnesota next to Towns and Wiggins for the long-haul:
Article Continues Below“I look back and see that roster, especially because we were so young — we were all 19, 20, 21,” LaVine said, via Jace Fredrick of Twin Cities. “We’re entering our primes now, and I think everybody could establish those roles and grow into who they were supposed to be, and as a three-headed monster, I think everybody wishes and wonders, ‘What could have happened?’ But that’s how the NBA is, man.
“You could always hope and wish maybe that’ll come back again, but you never know. James (Harden) and (Russell) Westbrook are back together (in Houston), so you never know. You might get reunited every once in a while in a couple years or something. … It was fun. You grew up with those guys, you grew up together as teenagers, so you have to cherish those moments.”
LaVine, Towns and Wiggins can each score the ball with the best of them. However, neither youngster has been a winner in the NBA.
The Timberwolves traded Wiggins to the Golden State Warriors for D'Angelo Russell, finally getting Towns his All-Star buddy.