Minnesota Timberwolves: Ranking Wolves players by trade value

Minnesota Timberwolves players with trade value who will stay put

Karl-Anthony Towns is the right answer here; the superstar big man made consecutive All-Star Games in 2018 and 2019 and the All-NBA Third Team in 2018 before injuries knocked him out of much of the last two seasons.

When he was on the court, however, he showed incremental improvement defensively and tantalizing passing ability in Finch’s offseason.

Towns has three years remaining on his contract and expressed a desire to remain in the Twin Cities, and in the absence of a trade request, the Wolves aren’t about to deal their best player.

Anthony Edwards is next on the list of untouchables. His rookie year, and, more specifically, the final two months of his rookie year were far too promising to entertain the idea of trading the budding 20-year-old star.

D’Angelo Russell could be traded and is the player on this portion of the list who is most likely to be moved, but it will only be if he’s part of a blockbuster trade netting a true superstar in return — think Ben Simmons, Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard, or someone of that caliber.

In other words, the max-contract point guard and best friend to Towns is almost certainly going to be donning a Timberwolves jersey this fall.

The last player in this category is Jaden McDaniels. McDaniels’ combination of impressive defensive chops as a one-and-done 19-year-old, combined with his length, shooting touch, and approach on offense make him a solid role player now with star-level potential.

He’s probably in the same sub-category as Russell: the Wolves will only trade McDaniels as part of a major deal that lands a legitimate superstar. He has three years of team control remaining on his rookie deal and is a promising fit as a forward who could play either the 3 or the 4 next to Towns for years to come.

Now, let’s look at the players with some trade value who are most likely to be moved.