Damian Jones

International Rumor Round-Up: Jones, Pokusevski, S. Lee, More

While we don’t cover international basketball comprehensively at Hoops Rumors, items involving current or former NBA players – or future NBA prospects – are always of interest to us, so we’ve been keeping an eye on the European, Asian, and Australian rumor mills this offseason as we monitor where NBA free agents are landing.

Generally, we wait until a team officially announces a signing to write up a story on it, since some international outlets are more reliable than others, and specific details in a non-English report can sometimes be lost in translation.

However, we wanted to pass along some updates today on possible deals involving some NBA veterans that have yet to be formally announced. Let’s dive in…


Damian Jones

A veteran NBA center with nearly 300 total games and a couple championships under his belt, Jones spent last season with the Cavaliers. The 29-year-old played sparingly in Cleveland, averaging 2.7 points and 1.6 rebounds in 6.9 minutes per contest across 39 appearances off the bench.

After rumors surfaced about a month into the NBA’s free agent period that Turkish club Fenerbahce may be interested in Jones, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reported that the big man was actually signing with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in the Chinese Basketball Association.

This story was a tricky one, since Carchia deleted his tweet reporting the deal after Sportando published a story about it. Zhejiang also doesn’t appear to maintain an up-to-date website or social media presence outside of China, so we couldn’t just wait for a formal announcement.

We reached out to Jones’ representatives at CAA Sports and to Carchia to seek clarity on his situation, and while the center’s agency didn’t respond, Carchia told Hoops Rumors that his reporting hasn’t changed despite the deleted tweet. As such, we’re assuming for now that Jones is headed to China for the 2024/25 season.

Aleksej Pokusevski

Pokusevski, a lanky Serbian forward, is a former first-round pick who showed flashes of real promise during his rookie contract. However, injuries derailed his development and he slid down the Thunder’s depth chart in the past year or two as Oklahoma City continued to add more young talent. He signed with the Hornets in February after being waived by OKC, but was later cut by Charlotte too in July, making him an unrestricted free agent.

A report from Christos Tsaltas of Sportal.gr (Twitter link) in mid-July indicated that Pokusevski was close to reaching a deal to join KK Partizan, a Serbian team based in Belgrade. The international outlet Sport Klub followed up earlier this week by reporting that the two sides had reached an agreement (hat tip to Eurohoops), while TeleSport suggested that the 22-year-old is signing a three-year deal (hat tip to Sportando).

Based on the sheer number of separate outlets reporting this deal, we trust that the info is accurate, but with Partizan set to fully reveal its 2024/25 roster on August 19 (Twitter link), we’ll likely wait until they make it official next Monday to write up a full story on it.

Saben Lee

Lee, 25, finished each of the past two seasons on a two-way contract with the Suns, appearing in 24 games for Phoenix last season. However, the 6’2″ guard now has four years of NBA service, making him ineligible for another two-way, which may have been a factor in his inability to find an NBA deal he liked this offseason.

Tolis Kotzias of SDNA.gr (Twitter link) reported in early August that Lee was close to signing with Manisa Buyuksehir Belediyespor, a Turkish team.

It still seems as if that’s the plan for Lee — there have been no reports since then suggesting otherwise. But Manisa hasn’t mentioned Lee at all on its website, Twitter, or Instagram, so our assumption for now is that the deal isn’t yet official.

Usman Garuba

A former first-round pick who spent a couple seasons in Houston, Garuba spent most of the 2023/24 season on a two-way deal with Golden State. He only appeared in six games for the Warriors, but was converted to a standard contract at the end of the season because the team had an open roster spot to fill. It was just a rest-of-season deal, so he became an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Reporting all the way back in May stated that Garuba was expected to sign with Real Madrid in Spain this offseason, but he responded by saying he had yet to make a decision. In mid-July, Spanish reporter Carlos Sanchez Blas (Twitter links) said that Garuba had a long-term deal in place with Madrid, and this time the big man didn’t deny it.

However, even as they’ve announced other roster moves – including the signing of Serge Ibaka – Real Madrid hasn’t confirmed the signing of Garuba on its website or social media. This is another one we expect to happen sooner or later, but we’ve been waiting on formal word from the club.

Rudy Gay

A 17-year NBA veteran, Gay hasn’t been in the league since being waived by the Warriors last October and will turn 38 years old this Saturday. Still, the 6’8″ forward doesn’t appear prepared to call it a career.

Just a few days into the NBA’s July free agent period, Kotzias of SDNA (Twitter link) reported that Gay was on track to sign with the Greek team Peristeri BC, barring an unexpected development. But subsequent reporting from Spanish outlet Piratas Del Basket (hat tip to TrendBasket) indicated that Gay was actually in advanced talks with Leyma Basquet Coruna in Spain.

It doesn’t appear Gay finalized an agreement with either team, since Orazio Cauchi of BasketNews tweeted in early August that the veteran was also drawing interest from Italian club Pistoia Basket.

Our working assumption is that Gay doesn’t have a deal in place with any team in Europe yet, though it certainly sounds like that could change before the 2024/25 season tips off.

International Notes: Diallo, Galloway, Martin, Mannion, Jones

Bayern Munich is interested in signing free agent wing Hamidou Diallo, according to German basketball reporter Robert Heusel (Twitter link).

A former second-round pick (45th overall in 2018), Diallo played for Oklahoma City and Detroit from 2018-23. He spent most of last season in the NBA G League with the Capital City Go-Go, making two appearances with the Wizards back in January while on a 10-day contract.

Diallo, who turned 26 years old on Wednesday, is a superb athlete who is an above-average cutter, finisher, rebounder and defender for a guard/forward. However, he has struggled with his outside shot throughout his career and he isn’t a great passer, which may have limited his NBA opportunities over the past year.

It’s unclear if Diallo would be open to playing in Europe for the first time in his career. He reportedly impressed during a private scrimmage last month and also worked out for the Bucks a couple weeks ago.

Bayern won Germany’s top domestic league (BBL) last season and also competes in the EuroLeague.

Here are a few more international notes:

  • Former NBA guard Langston Galloway has signed a contract with Italy’s Trapani Shark, agent Misko Raznatovic announced (via Twitter). Galloway, who played for seven different teams over the course of his eight NBA seasons from 2014-22, spent the 2022/23 season in the NBA G League with the College Park Skyhawks. Last season, he played professionally in Europe for the first time in his career, averaging 16.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 2.4 APG on .393/.363/.895 shooting in 30 games for Reggio Emilia in Italy’s top basketball league (LBA).
  • Former Warriors guard Nico Mannion will remain with Italy’s Pallacanestro Varese for the 2024/25 season, the team announced (via Twitter). The 23-year-old, who was born in Italy, also spent time in Spain last season with Baskonia.
  • Jarell Martin, who spent last season in Turkey with Galatasaray, has officially signed a one-year contract with Australia’s Adelaide 36ers, per a team press release. The 25th pick of the 2015 draft, Martin played four NBA seasons with Memphis and Orlando from 2015-19. The news of Martin’s signing was first reported by ESPN.
  • Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce is eyeing free agent center Damian Jones, reports Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. Jones, 29, has spent the past eight years in the NBA, having played 39 games for the Cavaliers in 2023/24.

Central Notes: Bulls, Cavs, Thompson, Pacers

The starting lineup has received more attention this fall, but the Bulls are also still determining which players will make up their closing lineup, as Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes. While it seems safe to assume that Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic, at least, will be part of those groups, head coach Billy Donovan suggested that different end-of-game scenarios might call for different looks.

“We have a lot of guys that can finish in certain situations,” Donovan said. “Theoretically, you’re up by five points with maybe 20 seconds to go, maybe you decide to go all defense in that situation. The last five minutes of the game, based on who the other team has out there, maybe we feel we have guys that have guarded a guy particularly well. So I do feel we have some versatility certainly defensively, to play a number of guys closing a game.”

Here’s more from around the Central:

  • The Cavaliers‘ starting lineup on Monday – in a game its five regular starters sat – could provide a glimpse at what the team’s second unit will look like when the season begins, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Ty Jerome, Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, and Damian Jones made up the team’s replacement starting five, with Georges Niang and Emoni Bates as the first two players off the bench.
  • Pistons rookie Ausar Thompson, whose defensive ability may earn him a starting job, relishes the idea of becoming the club’s perimeter stopper, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “That’s the most exciting thing for me, that they trust me to go out and guard those guys,” Thompson said after matching up with Devin Booker and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Detroit’s first two preseason games. “I’ve always believed those are the guys I want and now those are the guys who are going to make me better and learn more.”
  • Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle pushed back on Monday against the idea that his starting lineup is settled, telling reporters that Bruce Brown, Bennedict Mathurin, and Obi Toppin need reps alongside Tyrese Haliburton before any final decisions are made, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Haliburton missed the Pacers’ first two preseason games, but looked good as part of the new-look starting five on Monday vs. Atlanta, expressing enthusiasm about the pace that Indiana’s tentative starters can play with. “With Obi and Benn and Bruce, those are guys that can really get up and down the floor,” Haliburton said. “… As long as we get stops and rebound, not many people are going to beat us up and down the floor.”

Jazz Trade Damian Jones To Cavaliers

JULY 8: The trade is official, according to the Cavaliers, who announced in a press release that they sent cash to the Jazz to complete the deal.


JULY 1: The Jazz have agreed to trade center Damian Jones to the Cavaliers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

It’s not yet clear what Utah will receive in the deal, but according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), Cleveland is acquiring Jones without sending out a player of its own. That’s possible because the big man is in the second year of a two-year, minimum-salary contract, so his salary can be taken on using the minimum salary exception.

Jones picked up his $2,586,665 player option for the 2023/24 season last week.

A former first-round pick, Jones signed with the Lakers last offseason after playing for five different teams in his first six NBA seasons, then was sent to the Jazz in the three-team trade-deadline deal involving D’Angelo Russell, Russell Westbrook, and Mike Conley.

Jones saw more regular playing time in Utah than he had in Los Angeles, averaging 4.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per contest in his 19 appearances for the Jazz. In total, he played in 41 regular season games and averaged 3.5 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 11.6 MPG.

The Cavaliers have been active in the last 24 hours, but their moves have focused on the wing (Caris LeVert, Max Strus) and forward (Georges Niang) spots. Jones will provide some additional size in the frontcourt behind starting bigs Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

Damian Jones Exercises 2023/24 Option With Jazz

Veteran center Damian Jones has exercised his player option for the 2023/24 season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The move guarantees Jones’ minimum salary ($2,586,665) for next season, so the Jazz will be on the hook for that full amount.

The opt-in doesn’t necessarily assure the big man of a return to Utah though, since he’ll immediately become trade-eligible once his option is officially picked up. He could be traded or released if he’s not in the team’s plans going forward.

A former first-round pick, Jones signed with the Lakers last offseason after playing for five different teams in his first six NBA seasons, then was sent to the Jazz in the three-team trade-deadline deal involving D’Angelo Russell, Russell Westbrook, and Mike Conley.

Jones saw more regular playing time in Utah than he had in Los Angeles, averaging 4.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per contest in his 19 appearances. In total, he played in 41 regular season games and averaged 3.5 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 11.6 MPG.

Jones, who will turn 28 later this month, is the first of four Jazz veterans to make a decision on a player option for 2023/24. Jordan Clarkson, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Rudy Gay also have player option decisions to make by June 29.

[RELATED: NBA Player Option Decisions For 2023/24]

Gay is considered a virtual lock to opt in, since he won’t exceed his $6.48MM option salary as a free agent, whereas Clarkson is a good candidate to decline his $14.26MM option and seek a multiyear deal. Horton-Tucker ($11.02MM) could go either way.

Northwest Notes: Jazz, Prince, Malone, Murray

Four player option decisions will help shape the Jazz roster for next season, writes Trent Wood of The Deseret News. Jordan Clarkson, Rudy Gay, Talen Horton-Tucker and Damian Jones all have to determine soon if they will accept their salaries for 2023/24 or test the free agent market.

Jones is first in line, with a June 23 deadline to decide on his $2.6MM option. The 27-year-old center signed with the Lakers last summer and came to Utah in a three-team trade in February. He saw steady playing time as a back-up center with the Jazz, averaging 4.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 19 games.

The other three players have until June 29, and Wood sees Gay as the most likely to opt in as the 36-year-old almost certainly won’t top his $6.5MM salary in free agency. The others face tougher decisions, especially if Utah takes a guard in the draft, Wood adds. Horton-Tucker had an up-and-down season, and the team may not try to re-sign him if he opts out. Clarkson is a fan favorite and just put together one of his best NBA seasons, but he may not be in the long-term plans if the Jazz decide to rebuild, according to Wood.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • The Timberwolves could look to trade Taurean Prince to help ease their salary crunch or possibly to acquire another ball-handler, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic states in a mailbag column. Prince has a $7.5MM salary for next season that becomes guaranteed on June 28.
  • Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe profiles the journey of Nuggets coach Michael Malone from being fired in Sacramento to building an NBA champion in Denver. The son of former NBA coach Brendan Malone spent 20 years in the league before winning his first title. “To get to this point, to win a championship is just, as you reflect upon all the people who helped you get here,” Malone said. “This is like a many, many years-long process, and you don’t do it by yourself.”
  • The Nuggets were thrilled to celebrate with their fans at Thursday’s victory parade as most of the players are first-time champions, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Jamal Murray was focused on enjoying the experience rather than recording it for posterity. “The best part of the day was just being present,” he said. “It wasn’t about taking videos. It was just about being in the moment, appreciating the fans. … They give me energy, they give me life during the game, so I can only thank them so much.”

Jazz Notes: Dunn, Prospects, Season, THT, Jones

Jazz guard Kris Dunn has evolved from being a 10-day contract signing to a critical role player, opines Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Dunn is currently averaging 12.6 PPG, 4.3 APG, 4.2 RPG, and 1.7 SPG across his six games with Utah. He is also connecting on career-bests of 54.2% from the floor and 43.8% of his three-pointers. Dunn credits his stint with the Capital City Go-Go, NBAGL affiliate of the Wizards, with helping improve his game ahead of his Utah tenure this season.

“The G League really helped my game this year,” Dunn said. “I had some inconsistency. Now I feel comfortable when I’m playing; I know where my spots are, I’m trying to take good shots … The game is slowing down for me.”

Dunn, the No. 5 pick in 2016 out of Providence, is crossing his fingers that he can earn a long-term contract with the Jazz, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News.

There’s more out of Utah:

  • The Jazz find themselves at a bit of a crossroads as they head into the final weeks of the 2022/23 NBA season, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. The team could position itself into top-10 lottery pick terrain fairly easily, or it could try to string together some victories for some level of postseason play, be that a play-in tournament or even a playoff appearance.
  • With March Madness set to kick off soon, the Jazz have a variety of intriguing NCAA players worth keeping an eye on, in addition to top prospects Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, writes Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (subscriber-exclusive link).
  • Jazz role players Damian Jones and Talen Horton-Tucker, both of whom have player options for the 2023/24 season, come under the microscope for fresh analysis courtesy of Todd in a separate piece. Todd considers Jones a solid two-way player with some potential as a long-range shooter, and suggests that Horton-Tucker, while still a raw prospect, has exhibited some potential as a point guard.

Trade Breakdown: Lakers/Jazz/Wolves Three-Team Blockbuster

This is the fourth entry in our series breaking down the significant trades of the 2022/23 season. As opposed to giving out grades, this series explores why the teams were motivated to make the moves. Let’s dive into a blockbuster deal between the Jazz, Lakers and Timberwolves.

On February 9, the Lakers acquired D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt; the Jazz acquired Russell Westbrook, Damian Jones, Juan Toscano-Anderson and the Lakers’ 2027 first-round pick (top-four protected); and the Timberwolves acquired Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and three second-round picks (one from L.A., two from Utah).

Notes: Westbrook subsequently reached a buyout agreement with the Jazz and signed with the Clippers. All three teams involved in this deal generated traded player exceptions, which can be found right here.


The Jazz’s perspective:

The Jazz weren’t invested in continuing the season with their current roster, despite a surprisingly fun ride in a year that they were expected to be at the bottom of the standings.

The move opened up playing time for Ochai Agbaji, Collin Sexton and Talen Horton-Tucker, three young players who had been in and out of the lineup (Sexton has been a rotation regular, but he’s dealt with injuries – this deal moved him into the starting lineup). Vanderbilt had already been moved to the bench due to the emergence of Walker Kessler, and the two were an awkward fit together offensively because neither is much of a threat to shoot (Vanderbilt compensates for his lack of shooting somewhat by being a good passer and ball-handler for a power forward).

Many fans think the Jazz “lost” this deal. That perception seems to stem from two things: the Lakers only giving up one first-rounder, when it was assumed they’d have to move off one just to trade Westbrook’s $47.1MM expiring salary, and the Jazz’s asking prices not being met.

The Jazz were reportedly looking for first-round picks for all three of Conley, Beasley and Vanderbilt. But that was never a realistic expectation.

Based on the structure of the deal, it’s pretty clear the Jazz were motivated to move off Conley’s contract for ‘23/24, which is partially guaranteed at $14.32MM ($24.36MM base salary), and didn’t at all mind adding Westbrook’s expiring deal to do it (it’s worth noting that the Jazz did add Jones’ $2.6MM player option for next season, which will almost certainly be exercised; Toscano-Anderson is on an expiring minimum-salary deal). I viewed Conley’s contract as having negative value leading up to the trade deadline, as he’ll turn 36 years old next season and has already declined on both ends of the court, particularly defensively.

Beasley provides something that every team wants: high volume 3-point shooting. However, he’s a very streaky shooter, and doesn’t offer a ton in other areas. He makes $15.56MM this season with a $16.52MM team option for ‘23/24. I thought Beasley had slightly positive value, but nothing special – maybe a heavily-protected first-round pick or a few seconds.

Vanderbilt was the player who had the most value of the three, in my opinion, due to his age (23), rate of improvement, versatility, strong defense, and team-friendly contract – he makes $4.37MM this season and $4.7MM in ‘23/24 (only partially guaranteed at $300K). I thought Utah could get a late first-rounder this season or a lottery-protected first in the future for him.

In aggregate, that’s one player with solid value, one with slightly positive value, and one with negative. Not a ton of overall value despite the three being rotation players for a decent team.

Obviously, the Jazz highly valued the lightly protected pick from the Lakers. Even in a scenario where the Lakers have the worst record in ’26/27 (they probably won’t, but you never know), there would still be a 47.9% chance the pick lands at fifth overall and goes to Utah. The major downside – and the upside for the Lakers – is if it does fall in the top four, the Jazz only receive the Lakers’ 2027 second-rounder.

Another factor in this trade from Utah’s side of things that I thought was interesting is also pretty cynical. If the Jazz believe Minnesota going from Russell to Conley is a downgrade — and it is at this point in their careers, which is why the Wolves got second-rounders back — then that increases the odds of the Wolves missing the playoffs. In that scenario, the Jazz would get a lottery pick in 2023 (they control Minnesota’s pick due to the Rudy Gobert trade).

They could also reasonably view the deal as a short-term upgrade for the Lakers, which would increase L.A.’s odds of passing Minnesota and Utah in the standings, and thus increase the odds of the Jazz controlling two lottery picks. For the rest of the season, the better the Lakers do and the worse the Wolves and Jazz do, the better it is for the Jazz as far as those first-rounders go.

The Jazz held out for a long time to get the best deal they could. This turned out to be it.


The Lakers’ perspective:

I think the Lakers made out well in this deal, but it did reduce their draft arsenal to go for a star in the future (that may or may not have been realistic). Still, they upgraded their roster, got younger, and the players make sense for what they need.

Los Angeles replaced one player who was a poor fit and two little-used reserves for three potential starters; at worst they’re rotation regulars. None of the outgoing players were shooters, and they picked up a couple pretty good ones.

Russell, 27, is having a strong year from an efficiency standpoint, shooting career highs from all over the court (54.3% on twos, 38.9% on threes, 85.0% from the line). However, he is not a great rebounder or defender, and his decision-making can be questionable as a lead ball-handler.

That’s less of a concern with the Lakers, as he can play alongside James and/or Dennis Schroder. That allows Russell to function both on and off the ball, which is ideal for his skill set. Unfortunately, he sprained his ankle in his fourth game back with Los Angeles, but the injury isn’t considered a long-term concern.

As I’ve mentioned previously, Beasley is a feast-or-famine type shooter who can go off at any given time. It’s a bit of roller coaster ride watching him from game-to-game because you never know if he’s going to be on that day or not, and he doesn’t stop shooting even if he’s off.

While he doesn’t provide a whole lot else, opponents treat the 26-year-old like a sharpshooter who has to be accounted for at all times, and that creates space for teammates. The Lakers didn’t have anyone like that on the roster before the deal, even if Beasley is more of a very willing good shooter than a great one.

Vanderbilt is the player I think fans will be most excited about of the three, despite being the least well known. He brings a much-needed infusion of speed, length, defensive versatility, hustle and rebounding the team has lacked all season.

Still just 23 years old, Vanderbilt instantly becomes the best wing defender the Lakers have had since they decided not to re-sign Alex Caruso in 2021 free agency. His energy is infectious and can swing the tide of games – he was absolutely instrumental in the team’s huge comeback victory over Dallas on Sunday.

The three players were teammates on the Wolves from 2020-22, so they already have some built-in chemistry (strangely, Beasley and Vanderbilt have now been packaged together in three separate trades). Only Vanderbilt has a small partial guarantee for next season, which gives the Lakers the flexibility to move on from any of them in the offseason, though I think that’s unlikely.

Another positive aspect of the deal is the Lakers added more desirable contracts. Almost their entire roster was on minimum- or maximum-salary deals before the deadline, but now they have more variety in that regard, assuming they retain all three players.

I don’t think this trade suddenly transformed the Lakers into title contenders this season, but I do think it made them much better than they were — now and going forward.

My biggest question mark from the Lakers’ side is, if this trade was available in February, could they have done it earlier in the season? Because they have to dig themselves out of a hole to climb up the standings, and there aren’t many games left in which to do it – a task made even more difficult by the foot injury to James.


The Wolves’ perspective:

One of the downsides of dealing away multiple starters at once — Patrick Beverley and Vanderbilt last year in the Gobert trade — is that it can erode a team’s chemistry. The Wolves clearly got on well last season. That matters for a young team, especially one that historically has been a bottom dweller in the standings.

The Gobert trade upended that chemistry, transforming a fun up-and-coming team with low expectations into a win-now team with high expectations. It’s pretty clear some of the remaining players were less than thrilled with the deal, especially at the start of ‘22/23. Some moved on and slowly learned how to work with Gobert. Some did not.

Russell was in the latter group. He frequently had terrible body language this season, specifically anytime Gobert made a mistake (fumbled passes, etc.).

Perhaps more than anything else, this deal was a pretty clear vote of no confidence in Russell. Obviously, the Wolves did not value him at whatever he was asking for in contract extension negotiations.

The Wolves could not have easily cleared a significant amount of cap space in the offseason even if they had let Russell walk in free agency. Instead, they decided to push that decision a year down the line and replace his salary slot with Conley, a mature veteran who should be able to provide leadership for a team that, from the outside looking in, is lacking in that department.

Minnesota is trying to remedy some of the chemistry issues by adding a calming, professional locker-room presence in Conley. The fact that Conley played with Gobert for three seasons was obviously a motivating factor as well. They already have some built-in chemistry, which was clearly lacking with Russell.

He’s also a much better decision-maker than Russell on the court, with his assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.4-to-1, which ranks fifth in the NBA (Russell’s is 2.31-to-1, which ranks 112th). That’s important for a Wolves team that ranks 28th in the league in turnovers per game.

I have a lot of respect for how Conley carries himself, both on and off the court. He was one of the league’s most underrated players during his 12 years with Memphis, and his teams have consistently been better when he’s playing — that was true for Utah this year too (better on offense and worse on defense, but still plus overall). He has a high basketball IQ and generally doesn’t beat himself with careless mistakes.

Alexander-Walker was likely more of a throw-in for salary-matching purposes, but the Wolves will get a closer look at him for the rest of the season (he can be a RFA if they give him a qualifying offer). The former 17th overall pick is having a solid year from an efficiency standpoint and has impressed me in some late-game situations with his defense, even if he wasn’t consistently in Utah’s rotation.

While I understand the logic behind the move from Minnesota’s side of the deal, I also think the Wolves took on the most short- and long-term risk.

Make no mistake, the Wolves knew this was was a downgrade from a production standpoint — that’s why they got back three second-round picks in the deal. Considering his age, size (6’1″, 175 pounds) and contract, if Conley declines any further, it will be very difficult to move him next season.

Russell may have his flaws, but he was also clutch this season, having bailed them out on several occasions during second-half collapses (a season-long problem). He was the team’s second-leading scorer with Karl-Anthony Towns sidelined for most of the season, and removing him from the equation puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the roster to replace Russell’s scoring – the Wolves are just 21st in the league in offensive rating.

The early returns haven’t been promising. Minnesota has gone 1-4 since the deal was finalized, though in fairness some key rotation players have been in and out of the lineup.

The key takeaway from the Wolves’ end is that they preferred to get something back for Russell rather than losing him for nothing in free agency. Not wanting to make a significant investment in Russell makes sense to me if they didn’t view him as a long-term fit. Still, if they miss the playoffs and the Jazz get extremely lucky and that pick lands early, it would be an unmitigated disaster for Minnesota.

Lakers, Jazz, Wolves Complete Three-Way Trade

FEBRUARY 9: The trade is now official, the Timberwolves have confirmed in a press release. As expected, Minnesota waived Bryn Forbes to open a spot on their roster to complete the deal.


FEBRUARY 8: A three-team deal involving the Lakers, Jazz and Timberwolves is in the process of being finalized, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The trade will send Minnesota guard D’Angelo Russell to L.A., along with Utah’s Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt.

The Wolves will get point guard Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the less favorable of the Wizards’ and Grizzlies’ second-round picks in 2024 (from the Lakers) and Utah’s second-round picks in 2025 and 2026, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Utah will receive Russell Westbrook and a 2027 first-round pick from the Lakers that is top-four protected. In addition, the Jazz will acquire Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones.

After months of searching, the Lakers found a way to unload Westbrook’s $47.1MM contract and only had to part with one of their two tradable future first-rounders. Westbrook has adapted well this season to a sixth man role under new head coach Darvin Ham, but his contract was still considered a burden and his lack of outside shooting made him a poor fit for L.A.’s offense.

The Jazz are expected to pursue a buyout with Westbrook once the trade is official, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report. If an agreement is reached, the Clippers would be interested in signing Westbrook, according to Haynes (Twitter link). He adds that the Bulls are also considering Westbrook, which would reunite him with Billy Donovan, his former coach in Oklahoma City (Twitter link).

The Lakers were able to add the shooters they had been seeking in Russell and Beasley, along with a versatile frontcourt addition in Vanderbilt. Russell, whom L.A. selected with the second overall pick in the 2015 draft, is connecting at 39.1% from three-point range this season, while Beasley is shooting 35.9% from long distance, providing two new weapons to space the floor around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Russell will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, Beasley has a $16.5MM team option for 2023/24, and Vanderbilt’s $4.7MM salary for ’23/24 is mostly non-guaranteed, so the Lakers will still have the flexibility to create significant cap room in the offseason if they so choose. They could also operate over the cap by hanging onto Beasley and Vanderbilt and attempting to re-sign Russell and Rui Hachimura, whom they acquired last month.

The Wolves, who have encountered difficulty incorporating Rudy Gobert into their offense, should benefit by reuniting him with Conley, his former Jazz teammate. Conley also brings a veteran presence that was lacking on a young Minnesota team — he’ll be charged with helping to make the Wolves’ Twin Towers approach work once Karl-Anthony Towns returns from his calf injury.

Unlike Russell, Conley is under contract for next season — his $24.4MM salary is partially guaranteed for $14.3MM. That will reduce the Wolves’ cap flexibility this offseason, but also ensures they won’t have to worry about losing their starting point guard for nothing in free agency.

As Wojnarowski points out (via Twitter), by acquiring the Lakers’ lightly protected 2027 first-rounder, the Jazz are adding another valuable piece to their collection of draft assets. Utah will have 15 first-round picks with little or no protections through 2029, along with a talented young core to build around and possibly more than $60MM in cap space this summer.

Even before a potential Westbrook buyout, the deal will open up a roster spot for the Jazz, who are sending out four players and only taking three back. The Wolves, who are acquiring two players for one, will have to waive a player from their 15-man roster to accommodate the extra newcomer.

And-Ones: Payton, Williams, Rising Stars, Taxpayers

Former NBA guard Elfrid Payton has signed with Puerto Rican club Osos de Manatí, per Dario Skerlectic of Sportando.

Evidently Payton decided against going the G League route and instead went with a (presumably) bigger payday. The 28-year-old spent last season with the Suns as the team’s third string point guard. He was a lottery pick back in 2014, selected 10th overall by the Magic.

Across 500 regular-season games (395 starts, 26.8 MPG) with Orlando, New Orleans, New York and Phoenix, he holds career averages of 10.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.2 steals.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

  • Former NBA big man Alan Williams has signed a two-year extension to remain with the NBL’s South East Melbourne Phoenix, the Australian team announced in a press release. Williams started his career in China after going undrafted in 2015, spent time with the Suns from 2016-18, then played for the Nets in 2018/19. After that, he made a brief return to China and played three seasons in Russia. The 30-year-old played 67 games during his time in the NBA, averaging 6.2 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 13.0 minutes per contest.
  • Deron Williams, Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol drafted their respective teams for the Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend, per the NBA. You can find the full results right here (Twitter link).
  • There are currently 10 teams — the Celtics, Nets, Mavericks, Nuggets, Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, Bucks, Sixers and Suns — the above the luxury tax threshold, and John Hollinger of The Athletic believes several of them could make minor cost-cutting moves ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. The Sixers are an obvious candidate, as they’re just $1.17MM over the line. Hollinger also points out that the Bucks and Lakers could save a significant amount of money if they were to deal away some of their little-used veterans (he points to Serge Ibaka and Damian Jones as players who could be moved).