As the season wears on, the Minnesota Timberwolves are looking to build consistency. With nearly two months of the season gone by, they will need to bring out the best version of themselves to have any chance of ending up in the playoffs.
To do that, they will be focused on making changes to the roster that will pay major dividends going forward. One big date that pertains to that goal is coming up. On December 15th, newly signed free agents can officially be traded to other teams.
Even though the Timberwolves just pulled off a huge trade in the offseason, there is still a good chance they will want to keep their options open in terms of who they acquire and who they move.
Three Minnesota Timberwolves players could be dealt
In a recent publication on HoopsHype, Michael Scotto reported that Minnesota is hesitant to trade Jaden McDaniels, and one of the only legitimate ways they can realistically make a trade is by moving D’Angelo Russell.
But aside from trading one of their starters, one of the other moves the Timberwolves could make is upgrading their bench by dealing one or more of their role players, according to Scotto. The players that he mentioned Minnesota potentially being interested in moving were Kyle Anderson, Bryn Forbes, and Austin Rivers.
While Scotto acknowledges that it is probably unlikely the Timberwolves make a move at all, this is certainly an interesting scenario to envision. Minnesota choosing to shake up their bench rotation immediately has huge boom-or-bust potential.
Who would Minnesota Timberwolves try to trade for?
If the Timberwolves did try to move one or more of these bench players, they would no doubt have a plan in place that they feel has a high chance of success. While this group has struggled significantly to begin the season, it is still too early to give up on them completely.
It is possible Minnesota could try to acquire a player like Kyle Kuzma to fill Kyle Anderson’s role. Doing so would give them a player that is more of a scoring threat, and would indicate trust in their other ball handlers on the roster.
They could also try to replace Bryn Forbes with a similarly prolific shooter with more experience like Patty Mills. But either way, it seems more likely that the Timberwolves are going to try to roll with their current group for as long as possible. After being hasty in their decision making over the summer, they will likely be slower to pull the trigger.