Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
T’wolves get Russell for Wiggins
Giving up on ’14 top pick, they land high-scoring PG
Most of the top NBA playoff contenders stayed out of the down-to-the-wire frenzy at the trade deadline.
The Heat and Clippers beefed up instead.
And a slew of other teams — including the Warriors — made moves with short-term finances and long-term ramifications in mind.
The NBA’s deadline Thursday afternoon for trades to be consummated did not arrive quietly, with a flurry of deals getting struck in the final hour and at least one other notable move falling apart before reaching the finish line. Deals that included at least 41 players and 15 future draft picks were struck on either Wednesday or Thursday — the biggest move likely being the one Thursday that saw Andrew Wiggins going from the Timberwolves to the Warriors so D’Angelo Russell could finally be paired with his good friend Karl-Anthony Towns with the Timberwolves.
Russell had been on the Timbewolves’ radar for months, a dynamic point guard in his fifth season in the league after going as the second overall pick in the 2015 draft. He averaged 23.6 points per game for the injury-wrecked Warriors, a career high, after arriving in an offseason trade with the Nets.
The Wolves tried to woo him then, too, but Russell instead steered that sign-and-trade swap toward the Warriors, the five-time defending Western Conference champions who’ve won three NBA titles during that span. The 6-foot-4 Russell is playing the first season of a four-year, $117 million contract and is shooting a career-best 37.4% from 3-point range. He played in his first All-Star game for the Nets last season.
Marcus Morris goes from the woebegone Knicks to the title-hoping Clippers — who added a piece many teams wanted. Three-time champion Andre Iguodala is ending his exile and going to join the Heat along with Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill, with the Heat sending three players who’ve combined to score a mere 254 points this season to the Grizzlies for that trio.
And NBA rebounding leader Andre Drummond got moved by the Pistons to the Cavaliers, then took to Twitter to express his dismay with the trade process.
“If there’s one thing I learned about the NBA, there’s no friends or loyalty,” Drummond wrote. “I’ve given my heart and soul to the Pistons, and to be have this happen with no heads up makes me realize even more that this is just a business! I love you Detroit...”
The Warriors decided to make the Russell-for-Wiggins move, giving Wiggins a fresh start that he likely needs — the former No. 1 overall pick will get to reap the benefits of playing alongside a healthy and rejuvenated Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green starting next season. And by throwing in a couple extra players, the Warriors also will likely escape the luxury tax this season. That’s not an insignificant point for a team that will go from five straight NBA Finals to the bottom of the Western Conference this season and, it hopes, back to title contention next year.
The Heat’s trade with the Grizzlies also lowered the Heat’s potential tax bill, and the Trail Blazers made a minor trade with the Hawks with a lower tax in mind as well.
The only trade from this week that got NBA approval before the deadline was a four-team, 12-player, three-pick swapping between the Hawks, Rockets (who notably sent Clint Capela to the Hawks), Nuggets and Timberwolves.
But the three top teams in the East — the Bucks, Raptors and Celtics — as well as the West-leading Lakers all remained out of the trade mix. It remains possible, and probably even likely, that at least some of those teams could look to bolster their rosters by adding free agents or when players become available through buyouts in the coming weeks.