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NBA Rumors: The Timberwolves are not a good fit for Dennis Smith Jr.

By Andrew Ites

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MARCH 10: Dennis Smith Jr. #5 of the New York Knicks goes to the basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 10, 2019 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MARCH 10: Dennis Smith Jr. #5 of the New York Knicks goes to the basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 10, 2019 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Minnesota Timberwolves are reportedly interested in trading for Dennis Smith Jr. according to the latest NBA rumors, but his game would not fit well with the Wolves’ current core.

NBA Rumors are starting to float around after the trade season officially opened a few days ago as players who signed new contracts this offseason are now eligible to be traded, and the Minnesota Timberwolves are generating a lot of buzz in the rumor mill.

The Wolves have been floated around as both buyers and sellers according to different reports, and it will ultimately depend on whether they are able to turn their season around from their recent skid and become a playoff contender once again.

If Minnesota decides to become a buyer, they will definitely be looking for a point guard to play alongside Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Jeff Teague is clearly not the long-term answer at that position, and Minnesota doesn’t have a young true point guard in the pipeline at the moment.

According to Ian Begley of SNY, the Wolves have become interested in trading for Dennis Smith Jr. who has struggled to get any playing time with the Knicks this season.

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The 22-year-old point guard fits the timeline of Wiggins and Towns who are both 24, but Smith Jr.’s style of play would not bode well next to Minnesota’s star players.

Smith Jr. has been an extremely inefficient player thus far in his career with a true shooting percentage of 47.9% and a player efficiency rating of 12.1 over his two-plus seasons.

The former NC State product does not shoot the ball well from downtown with a career three-point percentage of 31.6% on 4.2 attempts per game, and that would not help a team that already struggles mightily with their spacing and outside shooting.

He’s got a mixed bag of statistics as a defender as Smith Jr. ranked 58th out of 67 point guards in defensive real plus-minus as a rookie and 26th out of 72 players at his position last year.

However, his overall real plus-minus numbers have been consistently poor as he’s finished 60th and 51st in that stat over his first two seasons.

Getting a point guard that doesn’t play well off-the-ball like Smith Jr. would take away touches from Wiggins and Towns, and Smith Jr.’s defender would be able to sag off of him because of his inability to shoot the three-ball.

Also, athletic point guards with Smith Jr.’s style of play don’t tend to have long careers, and he’s already dealt with some significant injury issues early on in his first few seasons.

Next. 3 bold trade ideas for the Timberwolves. dark

While Smith Jr. may be an intriguing buy-low candidate in the trade market, he is simply too poor of a fit for Minnesota to consider giving up any assets for him.

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