NBA Trade Deadline: Every Timberwolves trade rumor from this week

Lou Williams

The Lou Williams discussion began on Tuesday afternoon when SI.com’s The Crossover listed the Timberwolves as one of three contenders, along with Boston and Oklahoma City, to have interest in the former Sixth Man of the Year.

My reaction, in part:

"…The 31-year-old is having a career-year, shooting 43.9 percent from beyond the arc, his best percentage from 3-point range since becoming a rotation regular back in 2007-08. He’s averaging a career-best 23.3 points per game for the likely lottery-bound Clippers, and would provide an efficient scoring punch off the bench for the Wolves."

Something to keep in mind when it comes to any potential Lou Williams acquisition is that it would require the Wolves to move Jamal Crawford, who is essentially an older and less-efficient version of Lou-Will. As we’ll find out later in this article, Minnesota is reportedly willing to move Crawford, which comes as at least a mild surprise.

At any rate, the Clippers reportedly reached a three-year contract extension with Williams on Tuesday, effectively ending any trade speculation as he now can’t be moved until the offseason.

The interest in Williams, however, does show that the Timberwolves are willing to improve their current roster without limitation, as any hesitation to move on from a high-scoring, well-respected sixth-man like Crawford would have been understandable. Crawford picked the Wolves over contenders such as Golden State and Cleveland in free agency, and if Thibodeau had wanted to show some loyalty, and/or if he hadn’t thought that Williams was a clear upgrade, well, it wouldn’t have been shocking.

And while Lou-Will won’t be donning a Timberwolves jersey anytime soon, it’s a positive sign that Minnesota had interest.