Rumor: Minnesota Timberwolves interested in trading for Ben Simmons

The Minnesota Timberwolves are interested in acquiring Ben Simmons via trade, according to a new rumor. And of course they would be – he makes sense on almost every level on the current roster.

Ben Simmons would give the Timberwolves one of the best passers and defenders in the NBA. The half-court offense is a bit rough around the edges for Simmons, but his fit alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards would be seamless.

Minnesota Timberwolves rumor: Wolves are interested in trading for Ben Simmons

Darren Wolfson of SKOR North said the following:

"“I texted with someone that knows Ben Simmons incredibly well – that had working knowledge of all things NBA. My text the other day said, ‘How badly’, because I know the Wolves are fans of Ben Simmons. But my text was, ‘How badly do the Wolves want to trade for Ben Simmons?’This individual sent me a text back. It was one word, ‘badly’.Make no mistake – the Wolves have trade interest in Ben Simmons.”"

We as a site have written about Ben Simmons a few times over the course of the past few days, including these two pieces about whether the Timberwolves should trade for Ben Simmons – and what the packages could look like.

The Minnesota Timberwolves would likely have to give up a decent amount of assets in order to acquire Simmons. He’s a 24-year old All-Star caliber player – although his stock is at an all-time low following a poor showing in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks.

I feel as though we already knew the Timberwolves were going to be interested in Simmons. Or, at least, we should have known – especially with how trade-happy and aggressive Timberwolves general manager Gersson Rosas can be at times.

Ben Simmons is an interesting player, he’s unique in most aspects of his game. Getting an innovative new coach rather than Brett Brown or Doc Rivers could help him – especially with the emphasis on elbow touches that Chris Finch has placed on offensive creators – specifically KAT.

Simmons-Edwards-KAT would become one of the most exciting trios in the NBA – and if the Timberwolves can pull it off without giving up Russell – Minnesota could be one of the better Western Conference teams in general.