Minnesota Timberwolves: 15 best trades in franchise history

6. Paul Grant to Milwaukee and Chris Carr, Bill Curley and Stephon Marbury to New Jersey for Terrell Brandon, Brian Evans, and a 1999 first-round pick.

This trade that occurred during the lockout-shortened season of 1998 helped set the table for Minnesota’s first 50 win season in 1999 and the ensuing playoff appearances.

Unfortunately for the Timberwolves, they were forced to get rid of the best player involved in this deal, Stephon Marbury. Marbury demanded to be traded to a bigger market and closer to his hometown in Brooklyn. No matter how hard Flip Saunders tried to convince him to stay, Marbury won out in the end.

His stats may have looked better in New Jersey, however, he didn’t have nearly as much success from a team standpoint. In order to move the 22-year-old star, Minnesota attached three seldom-used players; Paul Grant, Chris Carr and Bill Curley, None of them did anything of note once they moved to their new teams.

Carr was perhaps the best of the bunch as he was a role player with the Wolves. He bounced around a lot, however, playing for five teams from 1998-2001 before never playing in the NBA again.

In return for Marbury, Minnesota received two-time All Star Terrell Brandon, bench player Brian Evans and a first-round pick in the upcoming 1999 draft.

Brandon played the last four years of his career in Minnesota and was a high-volume scorer mixed with setup man for the team. He took over as the starting point guard and produced fairly positive results.

The first-rounder ended up being the sixth overall pick in the draft. A man by the name of Wally Szczerbiak was selected with that pick. He played the first six plus years with the Wolves, earning an All-Star nod during the 2001-02 season.

Getting to major contributors in return for Marbury was a nice get for the Timberwolves. This ended up being an under the radar trade as they got rid of someone who clearly didn’t have long-term plans with the franchise.