CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In February 2020, about a month before COVID-19 shut down the NBA season, the Timberwolves swung a trade for D'Angelo Russell. The franchise felt like was the dawning of a new era.
The Wolves invited the media and had a strong team contingent at the airport hangar where Russell was going to arrive. They held a press conference with Russell and several other trade deadline acquisitions the next day at the City Center, so anyone walking through the skyway on their lunch breaks could have a look at the Wolves' newest players.
But Russell was the showcase.