The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to trade Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz and reacquire point guard D’Angelo Russell from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a three-team, eight-player trade, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday.
The Lakers also get Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt in the trade, while the Timberwolves will receive guards Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker and picks.
In addition to Westbrook, the Jazz will receive Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and a 2027 Lakers first-round pick that is top-four protected, sources said. If the Lakers’ pick to the Jazz is not conveyed in 2027 — if it falls into the top four — the pick immediately converts to a 2027 second-round pick, sources told ESPN’s Zach Lowe.
All players involved have been notified about the trade, including Westbrook, according to sources.
The additions of Russell, Beasley and Vanderbilt bolster the Lakers’ core around LeBron James in a bid to jump-start their sputtering season. The Lakers fell to 25-30 on Tuesday while James set the NBA’s career scoring record, and they sit in 13th place in the 15-team Western Conference.
Russell and Beasley, in particular, should help a Lakers team that ranks 26th in 3-point field goal percentage and 27th in 3-point field goal percentage on wide-open attempts, according to Second Spectrum.
Russell, 26, is averaging 17.9 points and 6.2 assists while shooting 46.5% from the field, including 39.1% from 3-point range.
After a rocky start to the season combined with the loss of Karl-Anthony Towns to a calf strain in late November, Russell helped steady the ship and keep Minnesota in the mix of a competitive race in the middle of the Western Conference.
He’s averaging a career high in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free throw percentage this season. He’s also finishing at an elite rate — his 65.4% shooting on layups and dunks this season ranks in the top 10 among guards (minimum 125 field goal attempts).
But with Russell heading into the final year of his deal and the continued emergence of Anthony Edwards, Minnesota decided to move in another direction.
This will be Russell’s second stint with the Lakers. He was drafted No. 2 overall by the team in the 2015 NBA draft and played two seasons for Los Angeles before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets in June 2017.
Russell has played for five teams in eight years; he has yet to complete three seasons on the same team thus far in his NBA career.
Beasley is a strong outside shooter, averaging 13.4 points while hitting 35.9% of his 3-pointers for the Jazz. The 6-foot-9 Vanderbilt has averaged 8.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, excelling on defense and on the boards while starting 41 of his 52 games.
Westbrook’s tenure in L.A. ends less than two years after the Lakers acquired the former MVP in the hopes of vaulting the franchise back into title contention. However, injuries and a poor on-court fit among Westbrook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis led to the Lakers missing the postseason last year and have them in danger of doing the same this season.
Westbrook, 34, now moves to his fifth team in as many years after a decorated 11-year stint in Oklahoma City that saw him make eight All-NBA teams and win the MVP in 2017.
Westbrook can still fill up the stat sheet in his 15th NBA season; he’s one of just six players to have at least four triple-doubles this season. But with his move to the bench this season, Westbrook’s overall production has dipped from his career norms — he’s averaging 15.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 7.5 assists. His 41.7% shooting is in the bottom 10 among players averaging at least 12 field goal attempts this season.
Westbrook is in the final year of the five-year, maximum extension he signed with the Thunder back in 2017. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Conley, 35, is one of the last remaining players from the Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert era in Utah and has helped lead the Jazz to a surprising spot in the play-in race.
Utah’s Jordan Clarkson said it was “super-hard to say goodbye” to Conley after four years together.
“That guy was like Yoda, honestly,” Clarkson said. “He had so many stories, and he had such an enlightenment about him. You just listened to him. … He can communicate with anyone.”
Conley is averaging 10.7 points per game this season, the lowest since his rookie season, but also a career-high 7.7 assists.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Source: www.espn.com