The Timberwolves gave the Lakers half a starter

Transaction Content:

The Lakers get Russell from the Timberwolves and Vanderbilt and Beasley from the Jazz;

The Timberwolves get Conley from the Jazz, Alexander Walker, the second rounds of the Jazz in '25 and '26, and the lower picks from the Lakers' 24-year Wizards and Grizzlies;

The Jazz got Wilson from the Lakers, Toscano Anderson, Damian Jones, and the Lakers were protected in the first round in '27 (1-4 picks, not available to become the second round in '27).

Let's go back to the summer of 2022, look at Minnesota, and imagine how this team that lost six games against the Grizzlies will start a new journey.

You see, the one who walked in front of him, who hit his old club with strength, was on his toes, ready to mix experience and passion, and rushed ahead of the young man;

You see, the defender who doesn't pick a position, doesn't pick a rhythm, and shoots three points with confidence, the one next door who looks hungry and drooling;

You see, that angry King Kong, he has a slender body and long arms, can run and jump well, can stick to the front line on the outside, and can change the iron tower Roshan on the inside, how an iron bone steel bar is really a good man;

You see, the pouting young man who moves to block the demolition, 26 years old and 62 years old, but there is no lack of throwing, jumping, and feeding cakes. As a Yannei companion hired by the Ming Mansion with a high salary, the wolves were even more in awe of him.

Led by two talented leaders, the wolves will attack higher goals. The core who is good at hitting the basket will help them tear open the defense, while the other top inside will get more open catch opportunities with the blessing of space. Harmony inside and out, the protagonist and the puzzle complement each other, and a bright future beckons to the wolves. So, let's take a look at the two wolves at the head:

So, it's the Los Angeles Timberwolves now?

In June last year, can you imagine that Wilson + Tucker + 1 first round + 1 second round can eventually become a small half of the Timberwolves team? Beverley, Russell, Beasley, Vanderbilt, in addition to Huazi, Downs and Jayden — the team's titular boss and two non-sale — these four are the Timberwolves' rotation with the most playoff minutes. It can be roughly believed that the playoff Timberwolves' Huazi and Downs were replaced by James. In the middle and late rotation, the Timberwolves' then Jayden, Prince, McLaughlin, Reed, Norwell, compared to the Lakers' current Mob, Gabe, Schroder, Reeves, Walker and Hachimura, I am afraid that the advantage is also limited.

Without looking at the process, just looking at the results, it is indeed difficult for you to understand how the Lakers managed to steal the sky. Looking at the value of the game and the contract value at that time, the Lakers have these two melons and one date, which are completely incomparable to the Timberwolves' three starters + one rotation. But the market is so magical, time can change a lot of things, clever third-party transfers, with the special needs of the respective team management, can turn some impossible operations into reality.

There are three keys here:

First, Jazz wants future salary space;

Second, Wei has less expired contract value;

Third, Russell is a contract that is difficult to renew.

These three keys increased the value of the chips in the Lakers' hands, lowered Russell's market pricing, and made it possible for the Lakers to acquire him.

This is also why, last year's deadline and vacation period, there will always be people who emphasize that do not rush out of Wei Shao, he is in different periods, facing different families, the contract value is different. Only by the end date of the contract year, as an expiring contract that can clear 47.1 million space, can Wei Shao sell as a less negative or even positive asset.

On the Jazz's side, Conley has $14.3 million guaranteed on part of his guaranteed contract next season. He's down, older, at risk of injury, and not in the Jazz's long-term plans. The Jazz are going to clear him up with this deal to get a lot of salary space this summer. Enter can introduce high-quality puzzles, and withdraw the garbage contract to get the first round.

In other words, Angie seems to be a good person, and Wade is suspected of playing Poseidon to send holy clothes, assisting Saint Seiya James to defend Athena, but in fact he still takes what he needs. The space cleared by the Jazz from this deal is likely to be worth more than 1 first-round round in the future.

Then you may ask, even if the Jazz need Wilson to clean up Conley's contract next season, what about Vanderbilt and Billies? Does the Jazz just ask for a first-rounder, or do they have the first four picks to protect and give the Timberwolves 2 second-rounders?

This is because the value of Vanderbilt and Beasley is overvalued by many fans. This was explained in the previous trading market inventory, Vanderbilt as a special puzzle piece for non-3D and non-center, his value in the market is between 2 second rounds and 1 first round, and he needs to combine other assets to get a first round. Beasley is worth even less, and beyond projection, Beasley lacks other contributions, he is worth less than his two-year contract of 15.6 million + 16.5 million, and is a marginal rotation in the playoffs.

The assets sent away by Jazz were only Vanderbilt who were really valuable. Conley is only attractive to a particular team, and people don't pursue him with assets that are too valuable. So, the Jazz actually cleared the space with Van der Biao with 2 second-rounders, and took 1 first-round by the way.

And what about the Timberwolves? They went back and forth, through the Jazz transfer, and sponsored half of the Lakers' starters.

Regarding the point guard of the Timberwolves, in fact, it has always been like this:

Since there are almost no additional assets to pack, Russell cannot be exchanged for a better point guard than Russell, so Russell cannot be strengthened.

The Timberwolves traded Russell for Conley not to upgrade the roster, and Conley's level this season is not higher than Russell's. They made the deal for just that reason — negotiations with Russell's contract extension didn't go well, and the Timberwolves didn't have the confidence to keep them at a reasonable price.

That's all?

Guess again the reason for a thick black spot:

If you were Connery and made a historic deal that was ridiculed by the crowd, would you be willing?

If they don't try to save the reputation of Gobert's deal, Timberwolves management won't have to mess around in the industry in the future. The Timberwolves got Conley, who had a more stable pass, which was equivalent to copying and pasting the Jazz's original No. 1/5 starting style, which was certainly helpful for activating Gobert. Conley plays this year and has one year left on his contract, which will allow the Timberwolves to temporarily press the No. 1 contract extension issue and buy them some more time to digest the Twin Towers.

Of course, it is also possible to no longer try to digest the twin towers. After the team's future focus completely shifted to Edwards, Downs was no longer in the Ming Mansion, and there was no need to keep his help. With Russell gone, whether Towns will become a bargaining chip in the future to optimize the Timberwolves' No. 1 position and forward depth is a matter of uncertainty. After all, Conley is older, and sooner or later he needs a successor, and with the Timberwolves' barren chips, he has to start with Downs if he wants to solve the problem. In the future, it is possible to break up the Downs contract and turn it into something like some second-line master + Bojan + O'Neal + draft picks.

The Timberwolves took the step of changing history, and it is impossible to stay where they are and wait for the world to change for them. You can think that Connery bought a mobile phone from a vendor, found that it would not turn on, went to the vendor, and then the vendor sold him a charger.

This deal, the Lakers is the easiest side to understand.

There are three things they need to address:

First, the shooter who pulls away space;

second, a backcourt blocker who can shoot and pass;

Third, the large-sized forward leads the defense.

With one transaction, all three things were solved.

Of course, 1 protected first round, 1 second round, plus Wei Shao with scraps, filling the three major needs, obviously will not be perfect. Russell, Beasley, Vanderbilt each have problems, the first two have poor defense, together as a starter, the defensive disadvantages will be superimposed, and Vanderbilt's space threat is very small, which is equivalent to bringing urgently needed contributions while amplifying the Lakers' disadvantages in other aspects.

Even so, the overall benefits still outweigh the disadvantages, and the key depends on how Hamm uses people. Russell + Beverley + Van der Biao + Jen + eyebrows, Timberwolves three starters + Lakers dual-core, this mix is the simplest scheme, defensive ability is very strong. But compared to Downs' space five ability, and Hanako's shooting style, Zhan Mei provides less space, and offensive compatibility remains to be considered. More combinations need to be discovered and tried by Hamm.

Pelinka regained his qualification as a man, and the deal should indeed be recorded as a classic case. The Lakers found overlapping interests in the Jazz and Timberwolves, which are very special and not universal, which allows the Lakers to make a seemingly robbery deal. But from the perspective of the Jazz and Timberwolves, it makes sense.

It can only be said that no matter how difficult the situation is, a solution can be found. In the last 5 years, Wei Shao has changed 5 teams, which seems to prove this. Bless him as well, and finally be liberated.