NBA Trade Grade: Lakers, Wolves get new PGs; Russell Westbrook is free

The Minnesota Timberwolves swap out point guards

Even if this is not considered a “big” move for the Minnesota Timberwolves, there’s no question that this is probably something that they needed to do ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline. They’ve been sleepwalking through the regular season and needed an addition to spark the team heading into the playoffs.

I’m not sure if Mike Conley is the player that will effectively do that for the Wolves but it’s honestly worth a try. He was probably the best (and most realistic) point guard target for the Wolves on the trade block. And considering the Wolves were not going to re-sign Russell in the offseason anyways, this type of deal seemed more and more like a no-brainer.

It will be difficult to grade this portion of the trade until we see how well Conley fits on the team. But you have to credit the Wolves for even realizing that something needed to change. Maybe this is a move that ends up paying big dividends for the team down the stretch.

Grade: C+