Former Florida State star involved in massive NBA Trade for second time this year

The former Seminoles is on the move once again, joining LeBron James in Los Angeles.

The NBA Trade Deadline always brings a flurry of wild moves as franchises try to position themselves for the present or future. In the last couple of days, players such as Kevin Durant (Phoenix), Kyrie Irving (Dallas), James Wiseman (Detroit), Jakob Poeltl (Toronto), and others have been moved to new landing spots.

READ MORE: Seminoles bringing in multiple Preferred Walk-Ons that turned down scholarships to sign with FSU

On Wednesday night, another big move went down when it was announced that the Los Angeles Lakers would be trading Russell Westbrook in a three-team deal with the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves. 

In the deal, the Lakers received Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt from the Jazz as well as D'Angelo Russell from the Timberwolves. The Jazz received Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damien Jones, and a protected 1-4 first-round pick in 2027 from the Lakers. Minnesota walked out of the trade with Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker from the Jazz as well as three second-round picks (2024, 2025, 2026).

So in total, the trade encompassed eight different players, one first-round pick, and three second-round picks.

Also in deal: Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones to Jazz, Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Timberwolves, sources said.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2023

Interestingly enough, Minnesota and Utah actually faced each other on the court shortly after the trade was announced by reporters. The players involved in the deal on both sides all sat out of the game. 

While Westbrook may not be the player he once was, he's still a big name in the league. The Jazz are expected to waive him so he can search for a playoff team to land with.

This is the second massive trade that former Florida State star guard Malik Beasley has been involved with over the last couple of months. In July, Beasley was traded in one of the biggest deals in NBA History when Minnesota dealt a package of him, Patrick Beverley, Leandro Bolmaro, Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt, four first-round picks, and a pick swap for Utah star Rudy Gobert.

Beasley will slot in with a Los Angeles Lakers team that includes the all-time leader in points in LeBron James and star big man Anthony Davis. The Lakers are trying to make a playoff run after beginning the year 25-30. The franchise currently sits at No. 13 in the Western Conference and will have to climb to at least No. 10 to qualify for the play-in games.

The Georgia native is in the midst of the seventh year of his NBA career which he's spent with the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota, Utah, and now Los Angeles. He holds career averages of 10.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 38% from deep. Beasley averaged a career-high 19.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game with the Timberwolves in 2020-21.

With the Jazz, Beasley was a member of the rotation and a spot starter. He appeared in 56 games, with 13 starts, averaging 13.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 26.8 minutes per game.

Prior to his time in the league, Beasley spent one year in Tallahassee with Florida State in 2015-16. He averaged 15.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while guiding the Seminoles to the second-round of the NIT alongside Dwayne Bacon, Terance Mann, Boris Bojanovsky, and others. His average of 15.6 points and 529 total points were the second-highest by a freshman in school history. Beasley concluded the season by being named to the All-ACC Freshman Team as well as an honorable mention to the All-ACC team.

READ MORE: Florida State's full 2023 football schedule released

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