Minnesota Timberwolves: Reevaluating the Robert Covington trade

The total value of the Covington trade for the Minnesota Timberwolves is…

Here’s the total ledger as it currently stands, excluding the players who were all let go by their new team following the trade (Keita Bates-Diop, Shabazz Napier, Jordan Bell, Noah Vonleh).

Out:

Robert Covington
Juancho Hernangomez
James Johnson
2020 No. 17 pick (Aleksej Pokuševski)
Four second-round picks

In:

Malik Beasley
Jarred Vanderbilt
Jaden McDaniels
Leandro Bolmaro
Taurean Prince
Patrick Beverley
2022 second-round pick

Again, the only thing that’s fudged at all here is the Hernangomez + Culver for Beverley trade. Obviously, the cost to acquire the No. 6 pick that Culver was drafted with (Dario Saric and the No. 11 pick in 2019) was high, so the Hernangomez-for-Beverley piece isn’t clean, but even if we take those two names out, this is a fascinating swap of talent.

The Wolves have at least two current starters in the “In” group, and Bolmaro could very well make it three starters by next season.

All six of the players in the “In” category will be in the Wolves’ regular rotation at some point, while Hernangomez and Johnson are both likely to be fringe rotation players this year. Pokuševski will see plenty of time on one of the league’s worst teams, but it’s not crazy to suggest that both McDaniels and Bolmaro have a best-case scenario that is more achievable than Poku’s.

If this season goes as the Wolves expect that it will, then this trade will look like an absolute steal. Trading a veteran like Covington away from a non-playoff team, an expiring contract like Johnson, and an overpaid rotation piece like Hernangomez and getting back two or three starters and three rotation players is strong asset management, at the very least.

While the Wolves’ ultimate success hinges on Towns, Russell, and Edwards, It will be absolutely fascinating to track the fruits of this trade in the coming months and years.