Timberwolves acquire Lessort, 2023 second-round pick for Gophers’ Oturu

The Minnesota Timberwolves acquired the draft rights to French forward Mathias Lessort from the Los Angeles Clippers and a 2023 second-round pick from Detroit in exchange for the draft rights to University of Minnesota center Daniel Oturu, the No. 33 pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

Minnesota officially announced the deal Thursday night.

Lessort, who was a second-round pick (No. 50 overall) by Philadelphia in 2017, has yet to make his NBA debut. The 25-year-old currently plays for AS Monaco in the French Pro A League. A professional for seven seasons, Lessort averaged 7.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest while shooting 59% from the field.

Oturu, who attended Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minn., played two seasons for the Gophers from 2018-20. As a sophomore last season, Oturu averaged 20.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. He posted a double-double in 18 of 31 games and was named to the All-Big Ten first team.

Oturu will be reunited in L.A. with former Gophers star Amir Coffey, who appeared in 18 regular-season games and three playoff contests for the Clippers last season.