On the Timberwolves’ interest in trading for Kenneth Faried

According to a Wednesday report from Sporting News’ Sean Deveney, the Timberwolves have engaged in trade discussions with the Nuggets regarding Kenneth Faried.

Deveney says that Denver has “emerged as the most likely to pull off a deal” among the many teams that are looking to make a pre-draft trade.

Of course, there are a number of front office’s who are not enamored with the talent near the top of the draft, and moving back (out out of the first-round entirely) is a way to procure the most value from a lottery pick in 2016.

The Nuggets hold a valuable trade chip in Faried, who just turned 27 and is a positive contributor on an affordable contract. He won’t be part of the Nuggets’ plans moving forward and is an obvious candidate to be moved.

On it’s face, the fit with the Wolves is obvious. Karl-Anthony Towns does not have many flaws, but physicality and rebounding are two things that a potential “perfect” power forward match would bring to the table — which happen to be two of the prominent characteristics that Faried possesses.

The opportunity to match an outstanding rebounder with decent mobility and the ability to mix it up down low with Towns should be extremely attractive.

The downsides? Faried is undersized at six-foot-eight, does not stretch the floor much beyond 12 to 15 feet, and despite being a decent overall defender, he can be out-matched defensively by bigger players and stretch-fours that will pull him away from the paint continuously.

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With all that said, he would absolutely be a fit for the Wolves and would likely be the starting power forward if acquired. Gorgui Dieng could return to a third-big role and be the top backup at both the ‘four’ and the ‘five’.

So, what would the Timberwolves have to give up to acquire Faried?

The likes of Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and Zach LaVine are obviously off the table in a deal such as this. Ricky Rubio should be as well.

That leaves the most attractive trade chips as the #5 selection and Shabazz Muhammad. That’s probably too much to give up in a straight trade, so the Wolves would no doubt ask for the #7 selection in exchange. The Nuggets could make the trade contingent on what players are or are not available with the Wolves on the clock, depending on whom they might have their eye on.

Denver also holds picks #15 and #19, and the Wolves would probably consider #15 if #7 were to be off the table. If I’m Minnesota, however, I hold out for #7. The value that Muhammad provides is similar to Faried in an equally-as-unique way, but the physical profile and positional match with Faried makes more sense with the Wolves’ current core. It isn’t enough of an upgrade to be worth a 10-pick drop in the draft.

Ultimately, this is a trade that could happen down the road if the Nuggets can’t find a draft nigh match. But don’t forget that they have three first-round selections, and will almost certainly be active in some way come Thursday night.

Next: Three Possible Ricky Rubio Trades

We’ll have continuing draft coverage from a Timberwolves-centric view throughout the day, so keep it here.