Ranking the Minnesota Timberwolves’ top trade chips
By Ben Beecken
The Minnesota Timberwolves have enough assets to get a major deal done this offseason.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are about to embark on what should be a fascinating offseason journey.
As the NBA playoffs roll on and the Wolves are participating in their In-Market Bubble, the front office is preparing to take advantage of one of the best war-chests of trade assets league-wide.
Let’s take a look at what Minnesota could use to find their elusive third star and/or additional starting lineup pieces heading into the 2020-21 campaign.
Ranking the Minnesota Timberwolves’ top trade chips
President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas already has a reputation as a mover and a shaker.
Only two players remain from the roster he inherited in May of 2019: Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Okogie.
Clearly, Rosas is not interested in standing pat.
He’s acquired his complementary star to go alongside Towns in guard D’Angelo Russell. He traded up on draft night in 2019 to grab Jarrett Culver, added forward Jake Layman on an affordable deal via sign-and-trade last summer, and appears to have uncovered a pair of undrafted gems in Jordan McLaughlin and Naz Reid.
That said, with Robert Covington, Jeff Teague’s expiring contract, and both of the Wolves’ 2021 draft picks already gone, what do the Wolves have left in the cupboard?
We’re setting out to answer that question today, and, in short, there’s a lot more on the roster that could be worth something to another team than might meet the eye. Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Or, put another way, all it takes is one. There were a ton of people who thought that Andrew Wiggins’ maximum contract was unmovable, and Rosas only needed to attach a pair of draft picks to swap Wiggins out for Russell, who is the ideal offensive fit with Towns.
Let’s set a quick ground-rule: Towns and Russell are not available in any deal and thus are not on this list. That could change in the future, but it’s unlikely to change any time in the next 24 months.
So, what does Rosas have to offer, and who might he be targeting to acquire with his remaining assets? Let’s get into it.