Dunking With Wolves
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Potential trades the Timberwolves should (or shouldn’t) pursue

By Justin Pinotti

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 24: The Minnesota Timberwolves make their way back on court as they play against the Miami Heat on November 24, 2017 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 24: The Minnesota Timberwolves make their way back on court as they play against the Miami Heat on November 24, 2017 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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1) Cole Aldrich (+ maybe a little sweetener) for Wes Johnson

Why should the Wolves do this?

This is my preferred trade for the Wolves, primarily because of how simple it is.

  1. Wes Johnson fills a big need: being a backup wing that is better than Bazz.
  2. He doesn’t have a lot of long-term money tied up on his contact.
  3. Trading Cole Aldrich, who isn’t playing, makes this an essentially “free” deal.
  4. It solves a lot of problems without upsetting the chemistry that the Wolves are trying to build.

Who are the Timberwolves getting?

The former fourth-overall pick by your Minnesota Timberwolves, Wesley Johnson!

What a strange ride it’s been for Wes. He went from a rookie who ascended to the top of the 2010 NBA Draft after one good (senior) year of college, something almost everyone knew felt like a trap, yet people couldn’t resist keeping him high on draft boards. He was drafted by a guy (David Kahn) that in retrospect actually had the right idea about where the league was going (“long and athletic” but really if you look at his drafting and trading, he liked 3/4 combo guys, which are all the rage now), he just consistently chose the wrong guy (e.g Wes Johnson instead of Paul George).

Wes then went on to be a massive bust for the Wolves, and looked to be on his way out of the league, but had his career saved by the wing-desperate, playoff-bound Clippers. And, actually, he’s not bad when your expectations are dramatically lowered from “fourth-overall pick” to “we just need 20 okay minutes from you”.

One of the funnier things about Wes is that he mostly seems to have become the exact player he was drafted to be. He was essentially supposed to be the prototypical 3-and-D wing. But when you’re a fine 3-point shooter and not a great one, while being a fine defensively player but not a great one….your impact is much lower.

Still, he’d help. He’s also usually half decent moving to the 4 for stretches of small ball.

Half-assed Justification for why the Clippers would do this:

They are an expensive team that is going nowhere this season due to injury. Getting out from under future salary may be of interest. Maybe Minnesota has to throw in a second-round pick too, I don’t know.

Would I do this?

Yes. These are the kinds of trades that Tom Thibodeau should be looking to make. While the major moving parts moves are sexier and may have longer-term big impact, we’re 20 games into a team with three new starters. You gotta give those guys a chance to keep gelling before you pull the plug. I know that is an easy way to deflect criticism, but too bad.

It’s only fair to give this team more than 20-25 games to find it’s feet….but our main issue of wing depth is something that possibly could be solved without upsetting the apple cart too much.