Should the Timberwolves try to trade for Kemba Walker?

If the Charlotte Hornets are indeed looking to trade Kemba Walker, should the Timberwolves raise their hand and try to hammer out a deal?

Now that we’re past the Jan. 10 guaranteed contract deadline and virtually all NBA players are eligible to be traded, we’re going to start to hear some crazy rumors between now and Feb. 8.

Friday morning, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Charlotte, who has been trying to move some of it’s heftier contracts, is apparently now willing to discuss All-Star point guard Kemba Walker in potential trade talks.

Of course, this means that every NBA fan will immediately wonder if their squad could make a play for the dynamic 27-year-old star; we may as well explore what this could look like for the Timberwolves. Let’s get into it.

Wolves fans will remember that Minnesota was reportedly on Kyrie Irving‘s shortlist of desired destinations back in July when he asked Cleveland to trade him. As we spent plenty of time debating the potential fit and what a trade might need to look like, the Wolves were reportedly one of six teams that made a formal offer.

Of course, he ended up going to Boston, which was not on the original list, and the idea of trading (or not trading) Andrew Wiggins and others hasn’t really been considered since, at least here at Dunking With Wolves.

So, let’s start with the obvious: would Kemba Walker be an upgrade to the Wolves’ point guard position? Unquestionably, yes. Jeff Teague is a solid point guard who has had a tough season fitting in with his new teammates, while Walker is in the midst of his prime and on a shorter and more affordable contract than Teague.

Secondly, do the Timberwolves have the assets to get a trade done? This is a tougher question to answer. The Wolves certainly have talent that they could move (Teague, Gorgui Dieng) and potential that they could dangle (Andrew Wiggins, Justin Patton). They also have Oklahoma City’s lottery-protected first-round draft pick that will surely be part of any trade that they might ultimately decide to make.

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The bigger issue is that Charlotte is apparently trying to initiate some sort of quasi-rebuild. Despite acquiring Dwight Howard in the offseason and willingly re-upping with Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams, the Hornets have found themselves over the salary cap.

While Batum is the best player of the bunch, he’s also the most expensive and has been injured and ineffective this year, which is also his age-29 season. Howard is probably a non-starter in Minnesota for more than a couple of reasons.

If the Wolves were to be serious about acquiring Walker (and, to be clear, there is no indication that they’re interested at this point), they would surely select either Williams or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist from the list of bad contracts that the Hornets would like to shed.

Williams is a nice fit alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and would be an intriguing big man to rotate with Taj Gibson and Nemanja Bjelica to give them another true outside shooting threat. On the other hand, Kidd-Gilchrist can’t shoot, but is slightly more affordable and would give the Wolves a third perimeter defender behind Jimmy Butler and Wiggins.

We don’t know what the Hornets are looking for other than salary relief, and therein lies the problem with any potential trade. Including Teague in any Walker trade doesn’t make sense for Charlotte because he’s older, more expensive, on a longer contract, and not as good of a player. Adding Wiggins to a deal makes the financials almost impossible, due to the massive extension signed just prior to the regular season, triggering the Poison Pill Provision.

If, for some reason, the Hornets thought that taking on Teague to get rid of a couple of bad contracts was something they’d show interest in, a deal could get done. The Wolves would likely include Gorgui Dieng and take back Walker, either Kidd-Gilchrist or Williams, and one other piece. (Jeremy Lamb would be nice, but something tells me that we’re now deep into Charlotte-definitely-says-no territory.)

Go ahead and spend 20 minutes on the ESPN Trade Machine and see if you can find a deal centered around Wiggins that makes sense from a financial perspective. Let me know if you find something, but I sure can’t.

Long story short: acquiring Walker would be awesome. Even though he’s a ball-dominant point guard, so is Jeff Teague, and Walker’s a better defender and a comparable 3-point shooter. Would a Walker-Butler backcourt be the most synergistic thing? Nope, but neither is Teague-Butler-Wiggins, and it would make the Wolves’ defense better.

However, there is a near-zero chance of this happening — at least before the February trade deadline. Would it be a possibility this summer, if the Wolves are feeling buyer’s remorse over the Wiggins extension and/or Teague signing, and if the Hornets have yet to shed their undesirable contracts? Maybe.

Remember, Jimmy Butler only has one more year on his contract after this year, so if the season ends in a first-round flameout, Tom Thibodeau will be under tremendous pressure to truly contend in 2018-19. Of course, this would require the Hornets to not believe that the Wiggins contract is also poisonous, and it’s anyone’s guess what Michael Jordan and his staff think about the value of the deal.

Next: Wolves Thoughts: Turning potential into production

At any rate, it will be fascinating to keep an eye on what will likely turn into a sweepstakes circus surrounding Kemba Walker in the coming weeks. And if there’s any Wolves steam, don’t believe it unless you think the Hornets really, really want Jeff Teague for the next three years at $19 million a pop.