The Minnesota Timberwolves have reportedly inquired about the availability of Aaron Gordon as we near the trade deadline. However, he is not a great fit for the way the Wolves want to play.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are looking to be active this trade season after making their first move a couple of weeks ago when they sent Jeff Teague and Treveon Graham to Atlanta for Allen Crabbe.
That trade opened up a roster spot, which makes the Wolves more flexible when trying to execute a deal before the February 6th trade deadline.
Now that Minnesota is in the midst of yet another 10-plus-game losing streak, their playoff hopes are almost certainly out the window, so they’ll be looking towards the future with any move they make over the coming week.
One potential move would be a trade for Aaron Gordon as Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reported that the Wolves have called Orlando regarding his availability in a trade already this season.
While Gordon has tantalizing athleticism and upside at just 24 years old, he does not fit the Timberwolves’ new offensive system under Gersson Rosas and Ryan Saunders.
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Minnesota currently ranks third in the NBA in three-point attempt rate as they try to become a more analytically-inclined team. However, they don’t have the right personnel on this year’s roster to execute that system as they rank second-to-last in three-point percentage.
The Wolves should be aggressively looking for outside shooters to add to their roster, and Aaron Gordon doesn’t fit the bill.
The former Arizona Wildcat is hitting just 28.6 percent of his 3.8 three-point attempts per game this season in Orlando, and his career numbers are not much better as he’s knocked down just 31.7 percent of his 3.4 attempts per game over his six years in the NBA.
O’Connor cited Aaron Gordon’s ability to be a playmaker in his article regarding the rumor, but Gordon’s averaging just 2.9 assists per game this season and his career-high is 3.7.
If Gersson Rosas were to add Gordon and keep Andrew Wiggins, who has consistently hit about 33.2 percent from deep in his career, the Wolves would find it incredibly difficult to space the floor and drain threes in their new-look offense.
If Minnesota would trade Wiggins away in a potential Gordon deal, they could potentially add enough shooting around him to help him succeed in their offense. However, I believe they should be targeting someone with a much better track record of knocking down three’s if they are going to continue launching 39.5 per game moving forward.
While Aaron Gordon has some intriguing talent, he would simply hurt the Wolves’ spacing too much to be a good trade target this season.