Minnesota Timberwolves: 4 trade deadline ideas featuring Ricky Rubio
By Nate Ackert
Trade No. 1: Minnesota Timberwolves acquire Aaron Gordon from the Magic
The Timberwolves have been inquiring about Aaron Gordon for over a year, dating back to the trade deadline in 2020. That interest was rejuvenated around the draft, and has appeared once again as we near the 2021 trade deadline.
As we’ve seen with Gersson Rosas, just because he doesn’t get a player he wants doesn’t mean he won’t stop trying — Exhibit A: D’Angelo Russell.
A trade with the Orlando Magic makes sense for both sides.
For the Wolves, adding Gordon fills their most obvious positional need: power forward. Jarred Vanderbilt and Jaden McDaniels have been nice fillers for the time being, but Vanderbilt is more of a role player than a starter, and McDaniels has shown that he is more of a combo forward that may get more minutes at the 3 under Chris Finch.
Gordon would be a nice fit in a starting lineup including Russell, Beasley, Edwards, and Towns. His ability to play off-ball would be huge for a Wolves offense that has lacked a consistent flow for the majority of the season.
Defensively, Gordon would provide a huge boost, as his size and movement allow him to defend multiple positions well.
The biggest question with Gordon would be his offensive fit next to KAT. Gordon is a mediocre 32.2 percent 3-point shooter for his career, so if his shot isn’t falling, would still be able to provide spacing for KAT? Some would argue his off-ball movement could offset any poor shooting, while others would argue that any power forward that isn’t a great 3 point shooter wouldn’t be a fit.
That will ultimately be up to the front office to decide, but it’s hard to argue that Gordon would be a massive upgrade for the Wolves at power forward regardless of fit.
For the Magic, this trade also makes sense. First, moving off a power forward makes a lot of sense for a loaded front court that already has guys like Nikola Vucevic, Jonathan Isaac, Khem Birch, James Ennis, Mo Bamba, and Al-Farouq Aminu vying for minutes.
That being said, the Magic have a young, inexperienced backcourt that is in need of a veteran for mentorship and control of the offense. Rubio would not only act as a mentor for this young backcourt, but his role as a facilitator would help get the most out of Orlando’s bigs.
More than anything, Rubio needs a fresh start, and it would make a lot of sense if he got to share the court the Magic’s frontcourt along with shooters like Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross.
On top of that, the Magic would also acquire Josh Okogie, a former first-round pick and possibly the Wolves’ best perimeter defender. The Timberwolves have failed to develop Okogie’s offensive game, so a fresh start may also benefit Okogie. If nothing else, Okogie is a lockdown situational defender that the Magic could benefit from in late game situations, especially if they make a late push for one of the last play-in spots this season.
The package would also include a 2022 second-round pick and could include more draft selections if the Magic need the pot to be sweetened.