3 trade ideas to supplement Minnesota Timberwolves’ playoff push

Timberwolves get Torrey Craig from the Indiana Pacers

Torrey Craig would bring valuable playoff experience and size to the wing spot for the Wolves.

Craig is another player who brings playoff experience to a potential role with the Wolves, having made the Western Conference Finals with the Nuggets in 2020 and the NBA Finals with the Suns in 2021. The 6-foot-7 forward carved out an important role with his defensive and rebounding efforts as a small-ball big during Phoenix’s playoff run, which sounds like the kind of skill set Minnesota could use.

Craig has been relatively inconsistent across his career, especially with regard to his shot. He never shot above 32.6 percent from three in his first three seasons, then made 36.8 percent of his attempts in 2020-21 before crashing down to 28.8 percent in his first 33 games with Indiana.

Since the calendar flipped to the new year, though, he’s up to 39 percent on 4.5 attempts per game, so it certainly seems he’s finding his shooting stroke. In any case, any offense Minnesota would get from Craig would be gravy if he provides the kind of presence on the glass and on defense that he displayed in Phoenix.

Indiana is already 6.5 games out of the Play-In Tournament in the Eastern Conference and has been heavily involved in trade rumors for months. The Pacers would likely jump at the chance to get future value out of Craig, so much so that they could be persuaded to unload him for one pick instead of two.

As for Minnesota, it’s hard to think Sachin Gupta would have any problem with giving up this package for a player who could be an important contributor across the next two crucial seasons in his team’s development.

We’re within a week of the deadline now, and it certainly seems as though a smaller trade that improves the fringes of the rotation remains the most likely scenario for the Timberwolves.