When Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas went ahead and dropped a nuclear trade deadline bomb on the entire franchise, there were a number of tangible skills that roster had immediately changed in a drastic fashion.
D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, James Johnson and Juancho Hernangomez arrived as players with a history of being able to knock down 3-pointers — something the Timberwolves’ let-em-fly system desperately craved. In Russell and Beasley, they also acquired a clear upgrade in playmaking and shot creation. On the other hand, they unquestionably lost talent and cohesiveness on the defensive side of the ball.