The Minnesota Timberwolves are looking to be active before the NBA trade deadline, but they may not get what they want in a Robert Covington deal.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are in the midst of their second 11-game losing streak of the season, which means they are more likely to be in the seller category before the February 6th trade deadline.
One of the Wolves’ most interesting asset to contenders across the NBA is Robert Covington, who is on a good contract and has a skillset that fits the three-and-D mold that the top teams in the league desire.
Minnesota’s front office has been reportedly shopping Robert Covington on the trade market, but according to the New York Times’ Marc Stein, the Wolves are asking for two first round picks in a deal for RoCo.
Ambitious as it sounds, Minnesota has sought two first-round picks in exchange for Robert Covington in advance of Thursday's trade deadline, league sources say. Let's see where the Wolves land if/when they actually deal him, with Philly and Houston at the front of the RoCo line
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 3, 2020
Stein also mentions that Covington’s two former teams are interested in re-acquiring his services: the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets.
Philadelphia has a top 20-protected first round pick from Oklahoma City in the 2020 Draft and then all of their first round selections from 2021 on.
Houston has their own first round pick in this year’s draft, but many of their future first round selections have either been sent to the Thunder or OKC has the right to swap as part of the Russell Westbrook trade.
Getting “two first rounders” from either of these two teams sounds great, but neither team has any picks that are likely to be in the lottery so they aren’t nearly as appealing.
I think getting two late-first round picks is a reasonable price for Covington, but I don’t believe the Wolves need to pull the trigger if that is the best offer on the table.
Marc Stein also touched on the D’Angelo Russell situation in which Minnesota is still the primary suitor:
Many thought the Warriors would wait until draft time to seriously ponder moving D'Angelo Russell, but sources say they are listening to pitches -- with no secret Minnesota wants D-Lo badly. Golden State is widely expected to trade Alec Burks and/or Glenn Robinson III this week
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 3, 2020
Wolves fans have been dreaming of a potential D’Angelo Russell acquisition for months now with a new report regarding their interest seemingly every week.
You’d think Minnesota would have traded for him by now if they had offered a generous deal to Golden State, but they must not have made an attractive enough offer to get the Warriors to bite.
There will be plenty of more smoke around this rumor before Thursday’s deadline, but I’ll believe Russell is coming to Minnesota when he’s wearing a Wolves jersey in a press conference next to Gersson Rosas and Ryan Saunders.
It seems like the Wolves are willing to make some sort of move before the upcoming trade deadline, but the intent and the magnitude of that potential move is yet to be determined.