Minnesota Timberwolves: 4 Wolves lineup possibilities for 2020-21

Minnesota Timberwolves Lineup No. 3: Massive Deal with OKC and Philly

Wolves Starting Lineup No. 3

G: D’Angelo Russell
G: Malik Beasley
G: Ben Simmons
F: Precious Achiuwa (Memphis)
C: Karl-Anthony Towns
Sixth Man: Naz Reid

Definitely a wild scenario here, but the reasoning is not completely unthinkable.

The only way this lineup would happen would be as a result of a massive trade, one that could potentially benefit every team involved.

This trade, though not likely, would theoretically have positives for all teams involved.

For the 76ers, this would give them a chance to swap Ben Simmons for a point with better shooting ability in Chris Paul. Paul would also bring leadership and playoff experience to the squad while also being arguably a better offensive fit with Joel Embiid than Ben Simmons.

Trading for Chris Paul may become more likely if Mike D’Antoni is hired as the 76ers coach, as the two worked together in Houston before Chris Paul’s deteriorated relationship with James Harden resulted in him being traded to the Thunder. It should be noted however that 76ers GM Elton Brand publicly stated that he is not looking to trade Simmons or Embiid, so that has to be considered when determining the likelihood of this trade.

For OKC, this trade is beneficial via investing in the future. Chris Paul was a good rental for 2019-20 and he led to team to an overachieving season, but with a new coach on the way and an abundance of assets from the Paul George trade, Paul is clearly not in the future plans of the organization. This would be an opportunity to get the best player in this year’s draft on top of three good contracts in Okogie, Culver, and Layman that offer some upside and possible trade value moving forward.

Additionally, James Johnson’s expiring contract would allow the organization to use cap space in 2021 to sign free agents to complement their young players. This trade could be tough to sell to the fans, but this is inherently a forward-thinking trade idea for OKC.

For the Wolves, this would create an interesting spin on their lineup. While D’Lo and KAT need shooters to complement their pick-and-roll game, Simmons would provide a unique twist to the offense by being another facilitator. Having multiple options to run the pick-and-roll would pose challenges for defensive switches, especially with Simmons’ size.

Additionally, if Simmons were to run the pick-and-roll, Russell could play off the ball and spread the floor along with Beasley.

The other aspect of this trade would be forcing the Wolves to draft a power forward to fill the 4-spot in the starting lineup. This could very likely occur with the No. 17 pick that the Wolves acquired from the Nets.

One player that could potentially fill this void is Precious Achiuwa out of Memphis. Achiuwa is a 6-foot-9, athletic tweener forward that has outstanding rebounding and defensive abilities with his 7-foot-2.25 wingspan. While throwing Achiuwa straight into the opening day starting lineup may be less-than-ideal, he would be a good fit for the Wolves’ needs, and could even benefit from rotating with Naz Reid and any other big ment the Wolves bring in.

Overall, this potential Wolves lineup has a lot of ‘what-if’s and is highly unlikely as of today, but the prospect of a new-look offense with the addition of Ben Simmons is certainly an interesting possibility.