News broke on Friday that the Charlotte Hornets are open to trading All-Star Kemba Walker. Here are three possible trades that the Timberwolves could propose to upgrade the point guard spot.
In the wake of my initial reaction to the Kemba Walker-is-now-available rumor, I’ve spent some time considering what any potential trade offer could look like.
Standing by my original take, let’s get this out of the way: landing Walker would be extremely difficult to pull off, and would almost certainly require at least three teams as part of any final trade offer. The Wolves and Hornets simply have too many large contracts on their respective rosters, and they would need to find a cooperating team that might be willing to take on a salary in order to land a draft pick or a young player on a cheap contract.
Of course, that’s also reportedly what the Hornets’ goal is here, too. Forgive me if I’m a bit skeptical; it was exactly seven months ago that Charlotte assisted Atlanta in their roster deconstruction by landing Dwight Howard and the two years and $47 million remaining on his contract. And it was just prior to last season when they extended Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Nicolas Batum and re-signed Marvin Williams.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the four players mentioned above are those that the Hornets “already made available”, and that Charlotte has found that their contracts are “unattractive in the marketplace”.
Yeesh. Think about that for a minute. All of those contracts were signed or acquired in something like the last 18 months.
At any rate, let’s approach this article with some healthy skepticism surrounding Michael Jordan‘s willingness to completely tear down the roster that he essentially built over the past two years. He’ll still want to win, and at 18-26 following a devastating loss to the Heat on Saturday night, the Hornets are still only four-and-a-half games out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
So let’s take a look at three potential trade scenarios. They all involve Minnesota and Charlotte, of course, but they also include at least one other team that has a) cap space, and b) motivation to be in a state of rebuild, at least at some level. (All trades are verified with the ESPN Trade Machine and have a link included if you wish to follow through to that page.)
Let’s get to it.
Timberwolves get: Kemba Walker, Marvin Williams, Jeremy Lamb, Al Jefferson
Hornets get: Andrew Wiggins, Josh McRoberts, 2018 Thunder lottery-protected first-round pick (via Timberwolves)
Pacers get: Cole Aldrich, Nemanja Bjelica
Mavericks get: Jeff Teague, 2018 Timberwolves second-round pick
Let’s just go ahead and start things off in the messiest way possible, shall we?
The above four-teamer is admittedly confusing, but here’s what it accomplishes for each team, and the reasons why any one of the above teams might balk at the proposal.
Why Minnesota may or may not do this
The Wolves would upgrade the point guard spot and add depth both at the four and on the wing. Williams (45.6 percent, 39.1 percent over the last three seasons) and Lamb (35.8 percent) would shore-up Minnesota’s 3-point shooting, and Williams would replace the outgoing Bjelica as the stretch-four off the bench. Lamb is a decent defender and would immediately step in to the starting lineup, providing more of a spot-up threat alongside Jimmy Butler in the backcourt.
On the other hand, this trade, along with all the others herein, completely alters Tom Thibodeau’s rotation and swaps out two starters. Additionally, they’d move Wiggins, who is locked up beyond this year, and bring back two players in Lamb and Walker who could leave in two summers, which also happens to be the same year that Butler could walk away.
Why Charlotte may or may not do this
This trade, like all of the other proposals in this article, hinges on the assumption that Michael Jordan and the Hornets front office see Andrew Wiggins as a potential star, and are okay with trying to accelerate a rebuild by trading a current star in Walker for a potentially budding star in Wiggins.
If that’s the case, they land both Wiggins and a first-round draft pick in this trade. McRoberts gets to return to Charlotte as a throw-in and expiring contract.
Why Dallas may or may not do this
The Mavericks are probably the most hesitant with this trade. They’re officially not tanking at this stage, despite their 15-31 record, and it’s hard to see Mark Cuban and Rick Carlisle truly tearing things all the way down. Acquiring Teague and a second-round pick for virtually nothing could be attractive.
That said, if they don’t find Teague’s three remaining years at $57 million to be palatable, then the Wolves and Hornets would have to find another team willing to take it on. (You’ll find that this is a theme in virtually any potential Walker trade.)
Why Indiana may or may not do this
The Pacers are essentially existing as part of this trade in order to swap salaries, as well as picking up a nice bench piece in Bjelica. (This trade could be completed without Bjelica’s inclusion, but the Pacers would likely need an incentive to swap Jefferson, who is a fringe piece of their rotation but still useful in short spurts, for Aldrich, who has barely played over the past 12 months.)
The Pacers save a small amount of money here and add some shooting to their bench without losing much in the way of depth.
Verdict
This trade hinges on the Mavericks’ level of enthusiasm related to taking on Jeff Teague. If it’s a non-starter with them, this trade wouldn’t happen. Otherwise, it seems to accomplish what the Hornets want and is a clear win for Minnesota.
Timberwolves get: Kemba Walker, Marvin Williams, Tyson Chandler
Hornets get: Andrew Wiggins, Jeff Teague, 2018 Thunder lottery-protected first-round pick (via Timberwolves)
Suns get: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cole Aldrich, Shabazz Muhammad
Okay, let’s simplify things a bit. Here’s how I believe this would break down.
Why Minnesota may or may not do this
They do this for the point guard upgrade, plus a pair of big men to add to their collection.
And really, that’s probably the biggest issue with this trade: the Wolves trade one never-used big man and acquire two useful ones. They’d surely prefer to acquire Kidd-Gilchrist in this trade over Williams — and that would work, as their salaries are similar — but the Suns don’t need another big man, either, with plenty of frontcourt promise already on their roster.
To alleviate the logjam, the Wolves would probably consider moving Bjelica or Gorgui Dieng in a separate trade, or add a fourth team to the above.
Why Charlotte may or may not do this
The Hornets get Wiggins, plus a new starting point guard.
If you don’t buy that the Hornets truly want to tear-down and start fresh (and clearly I don’t), then slotting Teague right back in at the point makes sense. The Hornets are only a few games out of the playoffs and they add Wiggins and Teague to their starting lineup alongside Lamb, who they get to keep in this scenario, and they can make a run at the postseason.
The other side of it, of course, is that they apparently are trying to shed salary. Again, unless they love Wiggins, this accomplishes the opposite. But if they do love him and if they like Teague, this could be seen as a better reallocation of assets.
Why Phoenix may or may not do this
The Suns do this to acquire more young talent in Kidd-Gilchrist, who is already a solid player but still carries some upside at just 24 years of age. Phoenix’s backcourt features some talented scorers in Devin Booker and Josh Jackson but not a ton of defense, and MKG could step in and provide help on the perimeter immediately.
The Chandler-for-Aldrich swap provides some salary relief for the Suns, as Aldrich is only partially guaranteed for next year and carries a smaller cap hit than Chandler. Shabazz Muhammad would have to approve a trade due to carrying one-year Bird Rights, and his minimum contract for next season is a player option.
Verdict
This trade hinges on a) the Hornets willingness to receive Teague alongside Wiggins, and b) the Wolves finding another way to further balance their roster. If the Suns aren’t a perfect third partner, the Hornets and Timberwolves could surely find one if they agreed on the Wiggins/Teague-for-Walker portion of the trade.
From there, Minnesota has to hammer out if they’d receive either Williams or Kidd-Gilchrist and which of those players would head to the third team.
Timberwolves get: Kemba Walker, Marvin Williams, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Hornets get: Andrew Wiggins, George Hill, Frank Mason III, 2018 Timberwolves second-round pick
Kings get: Jeff Teague, Cole Aldrich, 2018 Thunder lottery-protected first-round pick (via Timberwolves)
Let’s play musical point guards, shall we?
Why Minnesota may or may not do this
The Wolves upgrade the point guard spot, as well as shore up their defense with Kidd-Gilchrist and 3-point shooting with Williams.
Unless the Wolves are apprehensive about giving up Wiggins or both of their 2018 draft picks, this trade is a no-brainer for them.
Why Charlotte may or may not do this
Charlotte would once again have to agree to take on the salary of a veteran point guard, although Hill’s contract decreases in value slightly over the next two years and he had a solid year last year for a playoff team in Utah.
The upside is, again, acquiring the potential of Wiggins while still remaining competitive in 2018 with a starting-caliber point guard, plus getting out from the salaries of Kidd-Gilchrist and Williams.
Why Sacramento may or may not do this
The Kings do this for the first-round pick. It’s a bonus that Teague is better than Hill and two full years younger, too, whether or not they keep him or move him over the summer. At a similar price, Teague is absolutely a better fit and the Kings get a draft pick and salary relief with Aldrich’s partially guaranteed contract next year, too.
Verdict
Once again, the Hornets have to be okay with taking salary back. If they are, this is probably the best trade of the three for the Wolves, as they improve at three positions while really only giving up Wiggins (and his massive contract) and a pair of draft picks.
Clearly, it won’t be easy for the Timberwolves to land Kemba Walker. Tom Thibodeau would first have to show a willingness to initiate a major roster shake-up during the season — including moving Wiggins, whom he just committed to in a big way via a huge contract extension.
Remember, Thibodeau reportedly wasn’t even putting Wiggins on the table in a Kyrie Irving trade proposal, and that was during the summer, which isn’t quite the same as upsetting the apple cart in January.
Next: Time to change the narrative on Wiggins and Towns
A trade remains exceedingly unlikely, but this exercise shows that there are more than a couple of ways that the Timberwolves could pull it off if they found a willing third (or fourth) trade partner.