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Steve Kerr Drops Truth Bomb On Why Warriors Traded D’Angelo Russell For Andrew Wiggins

After the 2019 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors acquired D’Angelo Russell in a sign-and-trade transaction that sent free agent Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets. But after just 33 games, Russell was then traded again, in a move that would be greatly beneficial to the Warriors’ competitive state this season.

On February 6, 2020, the Warriors traded D’Angelo Russell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, a protected 2021 first-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick. The Warriors not only got an All-Star caliber player in Wiggins, who has majorly improved in every aspect of the game, but especially on defense ever since coming to the Bay, but also a lottery pick that the Warriors turned into Jonathan Kuminga, who’s got all the tools to become an exceptional NBA player in the coming years.

They didn’t even have to put on ski masks.

Now, almost two years after the trade, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr revealed why they ended up trading Russell.

“Well, it was definitely a trade of need for us. We’d lost so much wing depth with Klay’s injury, Kevin Durant’s departure, Shaun Livingston’s retirement, Andre Iguodala’s departure. So we just really needed to sign someone big and Andrew Wiggins played really well for us. And then to gain a really good young talent like Jonathan was a great addition to the team.”

Kerr on how the Wiggins-DLo trade has worked out for Golden State pic.twitter.com/LKW3Rjplt0

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 17, 2022