Minnesota Timberwolves: Making sense of enormous four-team trade

It took nearly all day, but the Minnesota Timberwolves are coming close to completing a deal centered around Robert Covington and Clint Capela.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been creating headlines all day long as they’ve been hard at work to make stuff happen before the trade deadline.

Unfortunately, it sounds like a D’Angelo Russell deal is not going to get done before Thursday’s deadline as the Warriors are reportedly unsatisfied with the Wolves’ offers thus far.

However, they were able to do business with a few other teams and get some assets back for Robert Covington.

According to Shams Charania, here are the parameters of the almost-done deal between the Wolves, Hawks, Rockets, and Nuggets:

Timberwolves get:

Malik Beasley
Juancho Hernangomez
Evan Turner
Jarred Vanderbilt
Brooklyn’s 2020 first-round pick (via Atlanta)

Rockets get:

Robert Covington
Jordan Bell
Second-round pick

Hawks get:

Clint Capela
Nene

Nuggets get:

Shabazz Napier
Noah Vonleh
Keita Bates-Diop
Gerald Green
First-round pick from Houston

Obviously, there is a lot to wrap your head around here as details of the trade continue to be reported.

From the Timberwolves’ perspective, they acquire two promising young players who are set to be restricted free agents this summer in Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez. I identified each of them as intriguing trade targets for the Wolves about a month ago because they are both pretty talented but had a hard time finding a consistent role in Denver’s incredibly deep rotation.

They also add another former Nugget in Jarred Vanderbilt, who has a non-guaranteed contract for the 2020-21 season.

The former Kentucky Wildcat has some promise, and at just 20 years old he’s a worthwhile gamble for a rebuilding franchise like Minnesota.

The Wolves also take on Evan Turner‘s expiring $18 million salary as part of this deal. Turner could play a role as a secondary playmaker for Minnesota this season, but he’s ultimately not going to be in the team’s future plans.

The Brooklyn pick that the Wolves are getting via Atlanta is protected 1-14, but that should convey in this year’s draft as the Nets are probably going to be a playoff team in the East.

Unfortunately 2020 is supposed to be a weak draft class, so Minnesota may be better off trying to flip that pick in some other type of future trade.

I’m not a fan of sending Jordan Bell away as I’ve been a supporter of his since he was a rookie, and trading a young wing like Keita Bates-Diop is not fun. However, neither guy was going to be a make-or-break piece moving forward, and I like the players Minnesota was able to get from Denver.

Parting with Robert Covington is also tough considering he was on a tremendous contract, had an extremely valuable skillset, and provided a strong veteran presence on a young team. However, he wasn’t a perfect fit for the Wolves’ timeline, and this year was going to be the peak of his trade value.

The Wolves will be obnoxiously thin at the point guard position after trading away Shabazz Napier. That will give more of a playmaking role to Jarrett Culver and Andrew Wiggins as they try to develop that part of their game, and we could see second-round rookie Jaylen Nowell get some minutes at point guard over the second half of the season.

Next. Timberwolves 5 best trades of the decade. dark

It’s going to take a little while to completely process this information, but I think Minnesota did alright in this trade.

They got a solid first-round pick, two upcoming restricted free agents who could be part of the future of this organization, a talented young big, and a veteran on an expiring deal.

A lot will depend on whether the Wolves are able to keep Hernangomez and Beasley, but if they can re-sign at least one of them this deal should be a success for Gersson Rosas.

Home/Timberwolves News