On the day of the trade deadline, the Minnesota Timberwolves traded for Ayo Dosunmu in a deal with the Chicago Bulls. While it wouldn't make the biggest headline, it had the potential to be one of the most impactful.
From the get-go, the 26-year-old has fit in seamlessly. After an awesome Game 3 performance, Dosunmu reminded the Wolves just how impactful this deadline move was. Undoubtedly, the Dosunmu trade belongs in the conversation for the best trade made this season.
Dosunmu completely dominates in the Timberwolves' Game 3 victory
If Timberwolves fans weren’t all that familiar with Ayo’s game before the trade, they became well-versed with it real quick. There was no time needed for Dosunmu to grow comfortable with his new team.
Thursday’s 113-96 victory over the Denver Nuggets in a pivotal Game 3 gives Minnesota a 2-1 advantage in the opening round series. Dosunmu had his fingerprints all over the win.
The fifth-year player finished the outing with 25 points (on 10-for-15 shooting) to go along with nine assists. In a game that saw arguably Denver’s two best wing defenders, Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson, unavailable, Ayo made it his mission to constantly take it to the hole.
While he missed all three of his 3-point tries, remarkably, his other 12 shots came inside the paint. This is also a Nuggets team mostly devoid of rim protection, and Dosunmu made it his purpose to take advantage of that.Â
Ayo was a huge reason why the Timberwolves doubled up the Nuggets 68-34 in points in the paint on Thursday. That’s what Dosunmu has done since joining the Wolves. He has brought instant offense off the bench, done a lot of the ball-handling, and has done yeoman’s work on the defensive end. The bench seemed like an issue much of the year, but after Dosunmu joined the team, that was no longer the case.
Dosunmu is finally able to showcase his talent in the postseason. He did make it once with the Bulls in 2022, but they were disposed of in five games in the opening round. Chicago was a Play-In Tournament for the next three years, but never advanced out of it.
About a month ago, Zach Kram of ESPN ranked what he believes are the 10 best (and worst) NBA deals since the 2025 offseason. I wrote then that not including the Dosunmu trade amongst the best was a complete oversight. You have to believe that if Kram redoes his list, Ayo would have to be included (and much higher than #10).
Add us as a preferred source on Google