Report: Fired Wolves exec ruffled feathers with D-Lo trade details

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Gersson Rosas was relieved of his duties as president of the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday, just days before beginning his third season at the helm of the team's front office.

Rosas' signature move during his tenure was the blockbuster trade with the Warriors which sent Andrew Wiggins to the Bay Area along with several valuable draft picks in exchange for D'Angelo Russell and other young players.

The protections on the draft picks sent to the Warriors in that deal caused some friction within the front office, The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski reported Wednesday, citing league sources.

"Some said Rosas worked his staff long hours without giving much input into the decision-making process. Others took issue with decisions made on personnel moves and trades, including the light protections on a first-round draft pick that landed them D’Angelo Russell from Golden State, Rosas’ signature move," Krawczynski wrote.

The Warriors received Wiggins, a 2021 first-round draft pick with a top-three protection and a 2021 second-round selection from Minnesota in the deal. The Timberwolves got D'Angelo Russell, Jacob Evans III and Omari Spellman in return.

That 2021 first-round draft pick ended up conveying to the Warriors with the No. 7 pick, as Minnesota finished outside of the bottom three teams in the NBA last season.

This enabled the Warriors to own two lottery picks in the 2021 NBA Draft -- No. 7 from the Wolves and their own pick at No. 14. G League Ignite product Jonathan Kuminga and Arkansas guard Moses Moody were the prospects selected with those picks.

RELATED: Where Wiggins lands on ESPN's top 100 NBA players for 2021-22

The trade was an intriguing one to say the least at the time, as Wiggins' massive contract was considered one of the worst in the league. The former No. 1 overall pick had not lived up to the hype in Minnesota, and a change of scenery was needed. Russell is close with T-Wolves star Karl-Anthony Towns, so the fit made sense for the young guard.

Minnesota really could have used that No. 7 overall pick given that the team still remains amid a major rebuild and sits near the bottom of a fiercely competitive Western Conference.

As Krawczynski reported, there were numerous other factors that contributed to Rosas' ouster on the eve of training camp. Not getting a better return on the Wiggins trade does appear to have played a role, however.

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