Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has wanted D'Angelo Russell in Minnesota next to him for a while.

That's why Towns had to make sure president Gersson Rosas wasn't joking when he called and said Russell was finally a member of the Timberwolves, via Marc Stein of The New York Times:

Minnesota and Golden State reached an agreement in principle on the trade on Thursday morning, prompting Rosas to seek out Karl-Anthony Towns, the franchise star, with an early phone call.

“He was shocked,” Rosas said. “I actually woke him up. He was like, ‘You’re not messing with me, are you?’ I told him, ‘No — but don’t say anything. Keep it to yourself.’”

Russell is the type of All-Star player Towns was hoping Rosas would deliver to him. Rosas came through in a big way, even if it meant the Timberwolves had to part ways with Robert Covington and Andrew Wiggins.

Russell is averaging 23.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists on the season. He’s shooting 43.3 percent from the field, 38.0 percent from beyond the arc and 79.1 percent from the free-throw line. D'Lo put up 22 points in his Timberwolves debut on Monday. Minnesota lost to the Toronto Raptors by 11.

D'Angelo Russell and the Timberwolves are back in action on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets. It will be the lefty’s home debut with Minnesota.