All Lakers

Lakers: Grading 3-Team Deal That Sent Russell Westbrook Away, Brought Back D’Angelo Russell

Trade grades time!

SI Editorial

In this story:

It looks like Los Angeles Lakers team president Rob Pelinka might just be able to have his cake and eat it too when it comes to dealmaking this season.

In total, he has brought in four high-caliber rotation pieces who will immediately become your Los Angeles Lakers' third, fourth, fifth and six-best players (with apologies to Dennis Schröder and Thomas Bryant).

Utah Jazz

Sent Out: Mike Conley (Timberwolves), Malik Beasley (Lakers), Jarred Vanderbilt (Lakers), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Timberwolves), 2025 and 2026 Second-Round Picks (Timberwolves).

Received: Lakers' 2024 Top Four-Protected First-Rounder, Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones.

Alex: This is a classic Danny Ainge play. He just added a first-round pick for three players he probably didn't want to build with anyway in the ancient Conley and the somewhat erratic Beasley and Alexander-Walker. Losing Conley will also help sink the Jazz a bit in the standings, so the current No. 10 seed in the west can low-key get on board the Tank-O-Rama For Wembanyama. The real loss of value is Vanderbilt, who's a pretty fun player on a great deal, and could possibly have been moved separately for some kind of lottery-protected deal.

Alex's Jazz Grade: B+

Noah: I actually don't love this move for Utah. I feel like these were three players they were hoping to get some decent value for, and when it's all said and done, they're only going to have one protected first-round pick to show for it.

Westbrook is likely to get bought out, and Toscano-Anderson and Jones will either get bought out or not have a role. So basically, they traded three key contributors on their playoff-caliber team and came back with one first-round pick. I'm all for them tanking, but I feel like they could've gotten more draft capital here.

Noah's Jazz Grade: C-

Minnesota Timberwolves

Sent Out: D'Angelo Russell (Lakers).

Received: Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Worse Pick Between Wizards' and Grizzlies' 2024 Second-Rounders (via Lakers), Jazz's 2025 and 2026 Second-Round Picks.

Noah: When the deal was initially reported, it seemed to be pretty bad for the Wolves. Losing Russell and just getting Conley and a pick didn't feel like enough. However, with the addition of Alexander-Walker, and the fact that they added three second-round picks, I think they came away feeling pretty good.

Russell is an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, and clearly, he wasn't fitting in next to Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. They were able to get some value for him in Conley (partially guaranteed contract next year) and Alexander-Walker (restricted free agent this offseason). And, the three second-round picks don't hurt.

Noah's Timberwolves Grade: B

Alex: Conley reunites with former Jazz pal Rudy Gobert, is a steady, stabilizing presence, and remains a good passer and shooter, but he's a bit overpaid for a guy who gets hurt all the time and can no longer defend at a high level. Alexander-Walker, still just 24, has some upside and helps replace Vanderbilt, whose absence this season (he was flipped to the Jazz in the Gobert deal) has surprisingly hurt Minnesota. It's nice that they get some draft equity back, after having sacrificed so much to add The Stifle Tower.

Alex's Timberwolves Grade: B-

Los Angeles Lakers

Sent Out: 2024 Top Four-Protected First Rounder (Jazz), Russell Westbrook (Jazz), Juan Toscano-Anderson (Jazz), Damian Jones (Jazz), Worse Pick Between Wizards' and Grizzlies' 2024 Second Rounders (Timberwolves).

Received: D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt.

Alex: This is not a home run, D-Lo is a flawed but talented player who had been having a great first half-ish of a season with Minnesota, but whose fit has vacillated wildly across his various stops so far. That said, he's such a huge offensive upgrade over Westbrook that it's also a bit of addition for subtraction, and he's never had a facilitator at the level of LeBron James to play off of before. 

Vanderbilt is on a steal of a deal and could really become a fan favorite in a hurry, thanks to his energetic play. Beasley has the outlines of the kind of 3-and-D perimeter fit LA has so desperately needed. The fact that the Lakers added these guys (plus Hachimura) without having to sacrifice both their first rounders is almost a coup! 

By the way, per Zach Lowe of ESPN, that protected first round pick in 2027 will instantly convert into a much more innocuous second round selection, should the Lakers be bad enough to actually land in the top four that season. LA still has issues defensively, but its roster looks a whole lot more balanced with the West wide open starting with the third seed.

Alex's Lakers Grade: B+

Noah: Well, well, well. What do we have here? A good trade by Rob Pelinka? His second good trade ahead of the deadline? A perfect mix of win-now talent that’s also young? Without giving up too much?

Sorry, that was a lot of questions. But wow am I impressed with what Pelinka was able to do ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline.

A few weeks ago, he kicked trade season off by acquiring 6-foot-8 forward Rui Hachimura without losing either of the Lakers’ two coveted first-round picks. I gave that trade an A-. And now, on Wednesday, he was able to finally end the Russell Westbrook experiment, bring back three young players who fit much better around LeBron James and Anthony Davis and only trade one (1) first-round pick. Can we give this man his flowers? Sorry, another question.

D’Angelo Russell is a perfect fit alongside James and Davis. The soon-to-be 27-year-old is averaging 17.9 points and 6.2 assists per game this season on 46.5 percent shooting from the field and 39.1 percent from deep. He has experience both as a ball dominant scoring point guard and an off-ball catch-and-shooter, which is the exact type of player you want around LeBron.

LeBron will have his opportunities to dominate the ball and have the offense flow through him. And when he does, Russell will be ready for catch-and-shoot open threes.

And when LeBron is on the bench, or wanting to play off the ball, Russell can handle the ball, and create shots for both himself and others.

As for the rest of the trade, the Lakers are filling out their roster with two versatile players in Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt. Beasley is averaging 13.4 points per game on just under 40 percent from the field. However, he’s a great three-point shooter, and has the ability to get hot. In his career, he has seven games in which he's scored at least 30 points.

And Vanderbilt is a plus defender, who will bring a ton of size and length as a 6-foot-9 forward. The 23-year-old is under contract for the next two seasons, and will definitely be someone the Lakers utilize off the bench in small-ball lineups. This year with Utah, he averaged 8.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game on 55.6 percent shooting from the field.

So, overall, the Lakers traded Westbrook — someone who had a career +/- of -255 with the team — and one first-round pick, and added three players who all have the ability to elevate this team to contender status. I think this is even better than the Hachimura trade, but not perfect enough to give it a solid A.

Noah’s Lakers Grade: A-. But a very high A-. Like 92.44 percent, just missing the cutoff to round up to a solid A.

Published
SI Editorial
SI EDITORIAL

Home/News