The Minnesota Timberwolves have had a disappointing season, to say the least. After making a critical move in the off-season to move on from multiple-time all-star Karl-Anthony Towns, the trade hasn’t gone exactly as planned. However, with the trade deadline less than two weeks away, Minnesota could redeem themselves—if they play their cards right.
The wolves don’t have an abundance of assets to trade. The biggest name that could be dealt with is newcomer Julius Randle. Throughout the season, it’s been clear that Julius Randle hasn’t fit in the offense and hasn’t done as much as Minnesota wanted him to when they first made the trade, leading fans to speculate about the forward’s future with the team.
Some other players the Timberwolves could send off to shake up the roster include Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley, and Joe Ingles. Jaden McDaniels, a fan favorite since he got into the league, has had an extremely down year, having a lot of inconsistent games and not doing enough to help the team. Mike Conley is another guy where I don’t expect the wolves to move on from him, but he is someone to keep an eye on. At 37 years old, his future with the wolves is extremely limited. It’s not entirely out of the picture that the wolves decide to move on from him for younger, long-term talent. Joe Ingles, also 37, could be a salary filler in a deal. He doesn’t get consistent minutes, making him available in trade talks.
Assets aren’t the only part of the puzzle, though, because the salary side of trading makes things even more difficult. The Timberwolves are a second-apron team, meaning that who they can trade and how they can trade is very restricted. Julius Randle is making $33M this season, and his contract and value may not be what teams seek. Because Minnesota is a second-apron team, it is very difficult to facilitate a Julius Randle package.
There haven’t been many rumors floating around about the wolves being interested in anyone on the market; there are a few guys I would love to see the wolves go after. My favorites are forward Cameron Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets and forward Deandre Hunter of the Atlanta Hawks. Trading for an all-star caliber player is probably out of the question, but both players I mentioned previously are some phenomenal role-players who should be able to fit into Minnesota’s system smoothly.
Tim Connelly has been known not to be shy regarding trading. For example, Rudy Gobert traded to Minnesota for five players and five picks; Rob Dillingham traded to the Wolves on draft night, and, of course, the Kat trade. Only time will tell whether the Wolves decide to make a splash by the February 6th deadline. If they do, I’ll cover it all on Drake’s Take.
