3 early trade deadline rumors featuring the Minnesota Timberwolves
By Ben Beecken
The biggest upside connected to the Minnesota Timberwolves: John Collins
John Collins hasn’t been connected to the Wolves all that much until recently, when Charania mentioned the possibility in the same breath as the Gordon possibility (subscription required). There was some Wolves-Hawks chatter closer to the draft, but not concrete rumors involving Collins.
Yours truly advocated for acquiring Collins during the offseason, although at the time, using the No. 1 overall pick as trade bait seemed logical. Now, mustering the assets to make such a deal figures to be much more complicated.
Collins is a perfect offensive fit with Towns, with the ability to be dynamic in the pick-and-roll game and knock down 3-pointers at an impressive clip.
Collins has made 39.5 percent of his long-range attempts dating back to the start of last season. He’s only putting up 1.09 points per possession (PPP) as the roll man this year, which is only 46th percentile. But when Collins had a larger role in the Hawks’ offense last season, he put up 1.31 PPP and was 82nd percentile league-wide.
He is a better defender than he’s given credit for, ranking in the top 10 in ESPN’s Defensive Real Plus-Minus (DRPM) among power forwards and No. 4 in overall RPM. Additionally, Collins has been a better all-around rebounder in his career than any of the power forward options currently on the Wolves’ roster.
The problem with Collins is that he would need an extension by the summer, and he’s reportedly seeking a max contract. That would be difficult for the Wolves to manage, to say the least, and that’s on top of conjuring up the assets to acquire Collins.
There would almost certainly have to be a third team involved, plus Culver and at least one future pick. Still, Collins is a dynamic enough player to truly move the needle for the Wolves, and whatever the cost is to acquire him … it might just be worth it.