Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 trade ideas for Marc Gasol

With the recent rumor that the Memphis Grizzlies are ready to jettison the remaining members of the Grit ‘n’ Grind squads, could the Minnesota Timberwolves get into the mix for Marc Gasol?

The Minnesota Timberwolves are 23-24 and sit two games back of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

While they’ve gone a respectable 19-15 since trading Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia, the Wolves been the absolute definition of inconsistent in recent weeks, including since firing Tom Thibodeau about 10 days ago.

One school of thought is that the Timberwolves must be patient, and allow Karl-Anthony Towns to continue his post-Butler dominance as he ascends from mere All-Star to superstar. Enjoy watching Josh Okogie blossom into a rotation player and lockdown defender, and bide time until Robert Covington returns to boost the team on both ends of the floor.

After all, an improving Towns plus healthy versions of Covington and Jeff Teague with Derrick Rose and Dario Saric off the bench should be a playoff team. But it largely depends on when Covington returns, and the Wolves will eventually need to get hot and rattle off a string of wins if they want to cement themselves in the playoff picture.

The other school of thought is that the Wolves can’t afford to slip back into the doldrums of the lottery, not after their first playoff appearance in 14 years last spring.

And, don’t discount the fact that general manager Scott Layden was retained while Thibodeau was fired; while the writing may be on the wall that Layden is out at the end of the year, the guy pulling the strings in the front office might just want to do what he can to keep his job. Ryan Saunders is essentially in the midst of a three-month interview for a permanent job, too.

It’s certainly possible that the Wolves trade any borderline pieces by the Feb. 7 deadline, and while there hasn’t been much specific chatter surrounding the Wolves, the idea of landing one of Marc Gasol and Mike Conley is tantalizing, to say the least.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday that the Grizzlies, who have lost six straight games and have finally sunk a few games out of playoff contention, are resigned to the idea of trading away their stars. Additionally, they don’t own their own draft pick in 2019, so they’re no doubt looking to find some picks elsewhere as they begin a rebuild.

What would the Wolves have to do to get involved? Let’s take a look.