Discouraging Dejounte Murray news means Timberwolves must up ante

The Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations, Tim Connelly, promised to be aggressive this year. That can mean different things to different people, but the consensus from NBA Insiders, pundits, and analysts concluded that the team would make a significant push for a third game-changing NBA star.

The Timberwolves currently boast Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, both of whom are generally accepted as capable of bringing an NBA Championship to the Minnesota Timberwolves with the right roster. Now, the Timberwolves’ front office must construct the right roster.

ESPN Insider Chad Lowe speculated that a third game-changing NBA star, San Antonio Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray, could be had for a package that included multiple first-round draft picks plus guard D’Angelo Russell.  At the time, the scenario was speculative, and there had been no confirmation that the Minnesota Timberwolves had engaged in serious talks with the Spurs.

The latest San Antonio Spurs article by San Antonio native L.J. Ellis is both encouraging and discouraging at the same time. It is encouraging in that he confirms the Minnesota Timberwolves rumors, and states directly that the Minnesota Timberwolves ‘have expressed serious interest in Murray’. If you were waiting for the temperature to rise on the Timberwolves rumors, here is your heat wave.

But here is the discouraging news. Interest in Murray is so absolutely vigorous that the Spurs have upped the minimum bid to be either:

I – Four first-round draft picks with minimal protection

OR

II – Three minimally protected first-round picks, plus two first-round pick swaps.

What does that mean for the Timberwolves? Well, assuming the team seeks the lesser of the two tracks, the Timberwolves package would look like this:

At one point, reports indicated that the Atlanta Hawks were close to a deal, but that appears not to be the case. The latest reports link the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, and yes, the Minnesota Timberwolves. But with such a rapidly dynamic story, there could be other teams in the hunt.

I believe that the consensus is correct and that the addition of Dejounte Murray would be a significant improvement to the Timberwolves roster. Is the asking price too high now? Perhaps.