Minnesota Timberwolves: Can the Wolves buy what Houston is selling?

With the Houston Rockets reportedly offering up anyone on their roster for trade, could the Minnesota Timberwolves take advantage and land some important pieces?

ESPN is reporting that the Houston Rockets are open to trading anyone on their roster and that no player or draft pick is untouchable.

Could the Minnesota Timberwolves get involved? Especially with new president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas’ familiarity with the Rockets’ roster and front office, the Wolves would seem to be a natural trade partner.

Working against this possibility, of course, is that the Wolves don’t exactly have a ton of trade pieces, and the Rockets may want to avoid trading to a teoretical Western Conference rival.

The Rockets are apparently even open to discussing James Harden, although it would surely be impossible to land Harden without moving Karl-Anthony Towns and a bevy of draft picks. Chris Paul is now 34 years old and owed well over $100 million over the next three years, but you can bet that CP3 is the contract the Houston front office would most like to move off the books.

Clint Capela, the 25-year-old center, is the most attractive trade piece. Even with four years and nearly $75 million remaining on his contract and some nagging injury issues throughout his career, his efficient 16.6 points and 12.7 rebounds per game are nothing to sneeze at.

The fit next to Towns wouldn’t exactly be perfect, however, and it would be a complete and utter shock if Houston boss Daryl Morey would even consider for a moment a trade involving Andrew Wiggins and Capela. While a swap with Gorgui Dieng’s remaining two years is more likely, the Rockets will be looking for actual value and not just salary relief in exchange for a young star like Capela.

A year of Eric Gordon at more than $14 million is far from attractive, and it would be surprising if the Rockets would both to move Nene’s modest deal. The only other possibility would be P.J. Tucker, who is still a valuable wing and small-ball 4, although he took a step back last year as the years are starting to catch up with him. He’s owed more than $16 million over the next two years.

All that to say, between the limitations on the Wolves’ own roster and the relatively low number of players that Houston could realistically move, plus the natural road blocks to a potential inter-conference trade, it seems unlikely that Rosas will be able to turn around and execute a trade with his old boss in the near future.

But then again, nobody ever knows exactly what Daryl Morey has up his sleeve, so it’s absolutely a situation worth keeping an eye on.