There were several layers to the Timberwolves decision to trade D'Angelo Russell and acquire Mike Conley, three second-round picks and Nickeil Alexander-Walker as part of a three-team deal involving the Lakers and Jazz — which made grading the trade unique and led to a fair amount of difference in opinion.
Here's the breakdown from six media outlets:
ESPN: If the Timberwolves were going to move on from Russell in favor of a more experienced hand at point guard, Conley was an obvious fit for both basketball and financial reasons. ...
Finding chemistry midseason with the rest of the roster may take some time, but Conley already has plenty of it with Gobert. Adding a better pick-and-roll distributor should help Gobert, whose scoring per 36 minutes is down 1.8 points from last year. ...
With Conley on the books, the Timberwolves enter the offseason $17 million below the projected luxury-tax line. Waiving forward Taurean Prince, whose $7.65 million salary is non-guaranteed through June 28 per ESPN's Bobby Marks, would increase that to about $24 million — likely enough for Minnesota to both re-sign unrestricted free agent Naz Reid and utilize the non-taxpayer midlevel exception while avoiding the tax. (As a result, teams hoping to add Reid at the deadline look like losers of this move.) ...
[Anthony] Edwards emerging as a lead ball handler looks like the best outcome for the Timberwolves. Even that would leave Minnesota needing to find another starter on the wing without a lot of options for doing so besides internal development. As a result, though swapping Russell for Conley makes sense in the short term, a team with a young star sending out a player in his prime for one in his mid-30s is hardly reason to cheer.
Grade: B-
The Ringer: For all intents and purposes, [the Timberwolves] swapped their max-contract point guard, famously Karl-Anthony Towns's friend and the player for whom they traded Andrew Wiggins and a juicy first that became Jonathan Kuminga, for a 35-year-old point guard averaging just 10.7 points per game, his lowest figure in 15 years.
And yet, this swap makes all the sense in the world for Minnesota because Conley fits the Timberwolves' needs so much better than Russell did. At his best, Russell is a high-volume guard, who peaked with a 32 percent usage rate in his All-Star season in 2018-19. But the Wolves don't need more high-volume ball handlers next to the surging Anthony Edwards and—when he returns from injury—Towns. Part of the reason for Russell's improved efficiency this season is that his usage had fallen to a career low.
Grade: No grades
CBS Sports: The Timberwolves ... traded a 26-year-old point guard for a 35-year-old point guard that is not significantly better here and now. If they had an obvious way of flipping Conley's contract into a younger core piece down the line, it might make more sense, but they've already traded all of their draft capital to Utah for Gobert. From that perspective, this trade almost feels like it's meant to double down on Gobert's timeline rather than emphasizing Edwards'.
We're not going to feel the true weight of that decision for a few years now, but Edwards is only 21 years old and is growing into the team's best player. That won't matter if the entire roster has aged out of its prime by the time he's truly ready to contend for championships. Minnesota just gave away a point guard who could've supported Edwards in his prime for one that can't. As queasy the Timberwolves likely were about extending Russell, that still makes this a questionable move.
Grade: C-
Sports Illustrated: Russell probably did not have a ton of value around the league, given his defensive reputation and expiring contract. Conley is a serviceable vet who makes sense next to Edwards. He's played off the ball with a dynamic guard before, he can space the floor, and he's an upgrade defensively. His contract is partially guaranteed next year, which means the Wolves can move off him in the summer, dangle his expiring next season, or keep him because he's a solid fit. And maybe Conley can even coax some better play from Rudy Gobert. Considering signing Russell long-term would have been a bad idea, this was a low-risk play for Minnesota.
Grade: B-
Bleacher Report: Minnesota isn't necessarily better after this deal, but the roster does, immediately, make more sense. Conley is having a rock-solid season as a both a floor-spacer and playmaker and fits more snugly into the plays-off-Anthony-Edwards role. His familiarity operating alongside Rudy Gobert will be a boon for offensive synergy. ...
Still, Conley is almost a decade older than Russell. And the $24.4 million he's owed next season ($14.3 million guaranteed) is net-negative value. Already strapped for contingencies after the Gobert trade, the Timberwolves won't have many available alternatives if Conley doesn't have the intended impact or slips off.
Grade: C-
USA Today: Mike Conley is a smooth fit for the Timberwolves. D'Angelo Russell is good, but he's a ball-dominant guard who loves to shoot it and does it pretty well. But Conley can function without the ball and is probably the better option for Minnesota as Anthony Edwards continues to elevate his play.
Conley hits 36% of his 3-pointers and has a brilliant 7.7-to-1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. He'll be able to better organize the Wolves' offense and keep them from getting stagnant. He's the sort of player they've been looking for.
Grade: B-
