Pass or Pursue: FanSided’s 4 trades could be KAT-astrophic for Wolves

Just for Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are an interesting NBA team. They operate in an NBA small market, and yet have continued to defy the odds and have become a perennial NBA Playoff team. Well, the Bucks are able to compete because they know how to sniff out a bargain. And in this trade scenario, they would hit the bullseye one more time.

In this trade scenario, the Bucks sacrifice an aging veteran in Jrue Holiday to turn back the clock and add an NBA All-Star center in Karl-Anthony Towns.

Reasons to Pursue

There are reasons to want to pair up Jrue Holiday with Anthony Edwards. And this trade certainly adds plenty of firepower to the Timberwolves roster. In fact, the return from sending both Karl-Anthony Towns and Mike Conley Jr. to the Milwaukee Bucks is estimated to add four more wins while shaving $269,000 from the Minnesota Timberwolves’ salary obligations.

How does this shake up the Timberwolves roster for the future? Well, the Bucks also added young players who could develop into meaningful contributors over the course of the season.

Reasons to Pass

If the Bucks made a trade of this magnitude, they would absolutely be the team to beat. But the Timberwolves suddenly appear to be very competitive as well. After all, Portis is a true 6-foot-10 power forward, and Beauchamp becomes solid depth at the small forward position. With this trade, the Timberwolves not only have a solid starting five, but the depth becomes one of the best in the NBA as well.  But does it shorten the window for the Timberwolves in the process?

Final Verdict: Hung Jury

This one is more a subjective matter of taste than an objective assessment. If you want to get rid of Towns, then yes, perhaps this trade scenario is as good as it gets. But it does assume that Towns will be what he is today, and that is a gamble that I’m not willing to make.