Timberwolves Rumor: Jared Dudley trade on the horizon?

As the Timberwolves continue to search for impact bench players, Darren Wolfson has confirmed that there is truth to a rumor first floated by ESPN’s Zach Lowe regarding Suns forward Jared Dudley.

With less than a week to go until the start of the regular season, the Timberwolves still have a fairly thin and unproven bench unit — especially for a team that no doubt fancies itself a contender for a top-four playoff seed in the loaded Western Conference.

And now, we have a real, live rumor suggesting that Tom Thibodeau and his front office are not content to rest on their laurels and enter regular season play with a thin stable of wings. Enter Phoenix Suns forward Jared Dudley.

After a sign-and-trade with the Indiana Pacers for C.J. Miles was rumored for some time but never came to fruition (reportedly, the Wolves would not surrender a first-round draft pick along with Cole Aldrich to land Miles, who ultimately signed with the Toronto Raptors), it was obvious that Thibodeau wanted another wing. And while the Shabazz Muhammad re-signing was a bargain, he’s not exactly a prototypical backup wing player.

Zach Lowe opened the discussion surrounding a potential Dudley trade with his “32 crazy predictions” article on Friday morning, which included the following.

"Minnesota trades Cole Aldrich and a second-round pick for Jared DudleyThe Wolves need depth and shooting, and the Suns could use more wiggle room Aldrich’s partially-guaranteed deal would crack open this summer. They are not getting better than this for Dudley. Minnesota is staring down a hefty tax bill for next season after handing over Scrooge McDuck’s vault to Andrew Wiggins; Dudley would add to it. Tom Thibodeau might snare a bench piece now anyway, and deal with next season’s tax next season."

The apparent “crazy” prediction from a national source was then corroborated on a local level by the reliable Darren Wolfson.

Lowe hits the nail on the head: the Wolves need depth and shooting — badly. In terms of roster balance and fit, it couldn’t get much more perfect for Minnesota.

Dudley is a 39.7 percent career 3-point shooter. He shot 37.9 percent last year for the lowly Suns but 42 percent the year before in Washington, and his career-worst dating back to his second season in the league was 36 percent for the Clippers back in 2013-14. This, of course, would add what would be the only legitimately and consistently above league-average 3-point threat to the Wolves roster — a huge deal when it comes to floor spacing.

Despite recently turning 32 years old, Dudley is still a decent defender, and if nothing else, is a big-bodied wing who understands how to play within a team defensive concept. He can still play heavy bench minutes, as his 21.3 minutes per game a year ago was his lowest average since 2008-09.

Dudley’s overall production dipped slightly in Phoenix last year, but between now being on the wrong side of 30 and playing in a poor offense, it isn’t a surprise at all. The veteran is still an overall, all-around better player than Shabazz Muhammad, for instance, and his 3-point stroke and solid defense would be a boon for Tom Thibodeau’s bench.

Aldrich is still a solid backup center but is becoming less useful in today’s NBA, and is buried behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng on the depth chart. With both Taj Gibson and Nemanja Bjelica at power forward, a chunk of Dieng’s minutes will shift back towards the center spot, further reducing the need for Aldrich.

The one tricky element to this is that the Wolves would be moving Aldrich’s partially-guaranteed 2018-19 contract for Jared Dudley’s $10 million this year and $9.53 million next season. As Lowe notes, the Wolves would be into the luxury tax, but that’s something that Thibs will be content to figure out later — as long as owner Glen Taylor feels similarly.

Next: Wolves Thoughts: The only measuring stick that matters

This trade would be an absolute slam dunk for the Timberwolves. Wolves fans: keep those fingers crossed.