When the Minnesota Timberwolves engaged the LA Lakers and Utah Jazz to become a third member of their trade negotiations, and in the process, agreed to put PG D’Angelo Russell into the mix, there were plenty of risks associated with that move. The most obvious, of course, is that both the LA Lakers and Utah Jazz would only agree to a trade if they felt as though their team held the winning hand after dealing the cards.
The second risk was the likelihood of helping NBA Western Conference team rivals improve.
But Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly proceeded anyway.