National Basketball Association

Lakers swap Russell Westbrook for D'Angelo Russell in three-team deal

Updated Feb. 9, 2023 7:37 a.m. ET

The Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz have agreed to a deal that will send D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt to the Lakers, Mike Conley Jr., Nickeil Alexander-Walker and a future second-round picks to the Timberwolves, and Russell Westbrook, Damian Jones, Juan Toscano-Anderson and a top-four protected 2027 first-round pick to the Jazz, according to multiple reports.

With the trade, Russell is reunited with the Lakers, the team that drafted him second overall in the 2015 NBA Draft. This season, Russell, 26, is averaging 17.9 points per game on 46.5% shooting from the field and 39.1% shooting from the 3-point range, in addition to 6.2 assists per game. The four-year, $117 million contract he signed in 2019 expires this summer.

Westbrook is expected to be bought out by the Jazz and the LA Clippers and Chicago Bulls have already expressed interest in the nine-time All-Star, according to a report from Yahoo Sports. Westbrook averaged 15.9 points, 7.5 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game in 52 games — only three of which were starts — for the Lakers this season. Jones and Toscano-Anderson fell out of Darvin Ham's rotation prior to the trade.

Conley, a former All-Star himself, adds a veteran presence to the Timberwolves' locker room, while Alexander-Walker can be a spark plug for Minnesota off of the bench. Conley, 35, has a partially guaranteed salary of $14.3 million for the 2023-24 season. His contract becomes fully guaranteed for $24.3 million on June 24 unless he agrees to push it back.

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