Ideas for potential Timberwolves trade deadline moves

The NBA trade deadline is only five days away, and what (if any) moves will the Timberwolves make?

So far, this season has been rough for the Timberwolves.

Going into All-Star Weekend, the Wolves only have 22 wins — not good for a team that is pursuing a playoff spot. Plus, Zach LaVine is out for the season with a torn ACL.

The Wolves have a number of options for trades before the deadline; it seems like every week since 2012 there have been Ricky Rubio trade rumors.

When you look at the Timberwolves, you see three major flaws in the roster. In the starting five there are two true centers, Gorgui Dieng and Karl Anthony-Towns. There is also a point guard who can’t shoot (not okay in today’s NBA). And there is only one player on the bench that creates offense in Shabazz Muhammad.

Grogui Dieng recently signed a contract extension for four years and $64 million. He doesn’t appear to be going anywhere but it could happen. (Earlier in the season I wanted to see a trade of Dieng for Serge Ibaka but that obviously won’t be happening anymore.)

So, what could the Wolves get for Dieng? What’s his trade value? Well as we all know, he’s a solid, athletic big man. He scores 10.2 points and grabs 7.9 rebounds per game while shooting 51.4 percent from the field.

The problem is, there really aren’t any likely moves for him. The Timberwolves would ideally trade for a power forward in this situation. There aren’t any teams with a good power forward that are looking for a center.

For every Timberwolves loss, there is a Ricky Rubio trade rumor. You’ve seen the Rubio for Reggie Jackson rumor among many other crazy options. I have a trade that is pretty wild, but I want to happen: Ricky Rubio to the Philadelphia 76ers for Nerlens Noel and T.J. McConnell.

Now don’t go anywhere, and hear me out on this. Getting McConnell doesn’t fix the “point guard who can’t shoot” problem but it fixes the winning problem.

T.J. McConnell is a winner. Once the Sixers began starting McConnell they started winning significantly more. He’s a guy that will do anything and everything to win. He is the sort of leader that the Timberwolves need.

Nerlens Noel is overlooked. He sits behind Joel Embiid and Jahil Okafor. While it looks like Okafor will be the guy to go, I still like this trade. The 76ers need a point guard, ad Rubio gives them the passing that they need for their young players.

This even fixes the bench issue on the Wolves; either Noel or Dieng can come into the game off the bench and provide quality offense. The trade is a long shot for sure and it would definitely be a risk, but I like it.

A more likely trade would be from someone on the Wolves bench. Rumors have been tossed around about a Shabazz Muhammad trade, and his stock has been up recently. I like Bazz, so I wouldn’t like to see him go unless the Wolves could get something good for him.

Trading Shabazz Muhammad for Dion Waiters works, but unless the Wolves threw a draft pick or something else in that deal I don’t see it happening. Personally, I would love for that to happen.

Cole Aldrich is a guy that is way overpaid for what he does. He’s on a three-year, $22 million contract, and, in related news, he is also scoring 1.8 points per game. If Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden could somehow trick another team into picking up this contract that would be great. Nemanja Bjelica, Tyus Jones, and Adrien Payne are guys that could get moved in the next five days as well.

There are plenty of trade options and I’m positive none that I could come up with would ever happen. There’s a reason I’m not the Timberwolves general manager. But hey, I gave it a shot.

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Chances are, the Wolves won’t make a move before the deadline. If they do, it’ll probably be small and insignificant. If they were able to make a beneficial trade though, it could be the difference between playing in April and looking at mock drafts instead.