Can the Minnesota Timberwolves swoop in and rescue Devin Booker?

Can the Minnesota Timberwolves pull off a Devin Booker trade?

The Minnesota Timberwolves have their star pick-and-roll duo and are poised to be much improved next season.

But they’re still on the lookout for a third star, and one of the names that just won’t seem to go away is Phoenix’s Devin Booker.

Booker is busy dominating in the Orlando bubble, leading Phoenix to a 4-0 record while averaging 28.0 points, 6.5 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game on .474/.400/.903 shooting.

Despite the Suns’ recent success, a recent comment by Draymond Green on TNT’s NBA Tip-Off show served to only fuel the flames of the Booker rumors.

Can the Minnesota Timberwolves swoop in and rescue Devin Booker?

Serving as a guest analyst on TNT, Green pleaded for Booker to make his way out of Phoenix.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1291869586258681858

Of course, the implications is that the Suns are a mess. While that’s basically been true since Booker has been there, the irony of the timing of this comment is that Phoenix playing extremely well. They have won four consecutive games, including victories over the Clippers, Mavericks, and Pacers, and now have a record of 30-39.

Additionally, the Suns’ point differential is a solid -0.8, which means that their expected record, or Pythagorean record, is 33-36.

So, how does that affect the Wolves?

The Suns were only a 21-win team last year. Now, they’ve got a shot at an expected record right around the .500-mark. The roster was improved somewhat with the additions of Aron Baynes, Ricky Rubio, and Dario Saric and they hired Monty Williams to be head coach. But a huge part of their improvement is because of Booker’s progression from overhyped, high-volume scorer to legitimate star.

In other words, it’s weird timing for Green to be making these comments. If anything, Booker’s obvious improvement is the primary reason why the Phoenix Suns won’t be trading their All-Star guard.

The Suns acquired Rubio to take the playmaking pressure off of Booker, and that has worked. They have a promising young big man in Deandre Ayton who has been impressive this year. And Booker himself has flourished under Williams. Why would they trade Booker for a host of draft picks and a couple of rotation players?

Ironically, if the Suns had once again put a winning percentage of .250, the Wolves would have a better chance of pulling off something like the below.

Frankly, this wouldn’t move the needle for a Suns team with renewed hope. The only way that Booker ends up in Minnesota is if there is something like on a Kyrie Irving or Anthony Davis-level demand, meaning that a) Booker requests a trade, and b) the Minnesota Timberwolves are one of a handful of teams on the list.

In short order, this now feels less like a rescue than a hang-up-the-phone situation from the Suns perspective.

We’ve documented the possibility of a Booker-to-Minnesota deal for quite some time here at DWW, and it’s clear that the Wolves wouldn’t want to ship either D’Angelo Russell or Karl-Anthony Towns in the trade. That means that they have to match salaries with James Johnson, include the two players on the roster with the most upside, and a host of draft picks.

Let’s break down the draft picks that would be included.

This year’s Brooklyn Nets pick, which will end up at No. 15 or No. 16 and is now confirmed to be conveying to the Wolves, makes things a bit easier as it would allow president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas to trade the Timberwolves own pick, which will be in the top seven and has a 14 percent chance at landing No. 1.

Due to the Stepien Rule, which states that teams can’t trade first-round picks in consecutive years, the Wolves wouldn’t have otherwise been able to move their selection, since they had already shipped their 2021 pick to Golden State in the Russell deal. Now, it’s possible.

But while a top-seven pick in a relatively weak draft is still attractive, first-round picks in 2022 and 2024 should be less appealing, at least if you buy that the Wolves will be a highly-seeded playoff team with their new Big Three of Towns, Russell, and Booker. Phoenix would essentially be trading their lone star for a couple of young role players, an expiring contract, a top-seven pick in a weak draft, and a pair of first-round picks that will likely fall in the 20’s in their respective drafts.

As much as it would be fun to see Booker play with his friends in Minnesota and as potent as the Wolves offense would be, it seems more likely that the Wolves will re-up Malik Beasley in restricted free agency than be able to persuade Phoenix into a Booker trade.

Then again, Rosas eventually got his man when it came to Russell, even if it did take him an extra seven months. Anything is possible with Booker. If the Suns have a disappointing start to 2020-21 and Beasley is impressive, perhaps there is a revisiting of the conversation, although the Wolves wouldn’t have that top-seven pick to move anymore.

It’s also important to note just how complicated it would be for the Wolves to build a true contender around three maximum salaries with few draft picks to use. While other teams have done it, the Wolves will need to hit on second-round picks and convince veterans to come to the Twin Cities on minimum deals. The prospects behind both of those must-haves are far from slam-dunks.

Overall, Booker in Minnesota still feels much more like a pipe dream than anything else. That said, be prepared for rumors to persist throughout the upcoming offseason and beyond.