Minnesota Timberwolves: Hawks reportedly asked for Beasley, first-round pick

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been interested in Atlanta Hawks big man John Collins for some time now, and the Hawks have reportedly made their demands clear.

While Atlanta doesn’t have a ton of leverage — Collins is due a massive raise and the Hawks don’t want to give it to him — they do have several other franchises bidding against each other for Collins’ services.

Thanks to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, we now have a sense of the type of return that the Hawks are seeking.

Hawks reportedly asked Minnesota Timberwolves for Malik Beasley, pick

O’Connor published a piece with several trade rumors, checking in on the biggest names that are commonly mentioned as likely to be moved.

The first major rumor he gets into involves Collins, the big man who averaged 21.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game while shooting 58.3 percent from the floor and 40.1 percent on 3-point attempts last season.

Collins is still on his rookie deal and reportedly rejected a $90 million extension offer last offseason. Atlanta acquired Clint Capela, signed Danilo Gallinari, and drafted Onyeka Okongwu, making it clear that they’re not planning to offer Collins the maximum contract extension he’s seeking.

The Wolves have reportedly shown recent interest in Collins. Yours truly wrote a piece last summer about Collins as a solid fit for the Wolves and a worthy trade target.

Now, we know what the Hawks are apparently asking for. According to O’Connor, the request was for Malik Beasley and a first-round draft pick, but the Wolves declined.

While the Hawks don’t have much leverage themselves, they do have an asset that is of interest to several teams league-wide, and Atlanta is counting on a bidding war of sorts. The Ringer reports that Celtics, Kings, Mavericks, and Pistons are all interested as well, and you can bet that the Hawks are calling each front office with their best-case trade request and seeing what teams they can leverage against one another.

From the Wolves’ perspective, trading Beasley and a future pick for the right to overpay Collins doesn’t make sense. If the trade could get done with, say, Jarrett Culver and a future pick, or if a third team got involved, then yes, Collins is a great fit and a case could be made for him to make max money.

But to both overpay in assets and overpay in dollars would be a bridge too far for the Wolves. Thankfully, Gersson Rosas feels the same way, and the Hawks are still looking for a trade partner.