On Wednesday, the Memphis Grizzlies traded Santi Aldama to the Dallas Mavericks for AJ Johnson, a protected 2030 first-round pick, and two future second-round picks.
Now, you might be wondering: How does this relate to the Minnesota Timberwolves? I'm glad you asked -- the Wolves now have a smoother path to trading for power forward P.J. Washington. Dallas adds Aldama to an already solid forward core. As such, they could be more open to trading Washington.
It's no secret that after trading Naz Reid and Julius Randle, the Wolves need a power forward. With them quickly losing options on the free agency market, a trade might be the Timberwolves' best chance of landing a power forward, and Washington would be an ideal (and realistic) target.
The trade would be centered around Josh Green (for salary reasons), with Terrence Shannon Jr. as a "sweetener." Green's expiring salary and the appeal of a young player in Shannon could be enough to strike a deal.
And as noted, Washington would be a picture-perfect fit with the Timberwolves.
P.J. Washington would fit like a glove with the Timberwolves
Washington offers a strong two-way impact that the Wolves should be searching for to fill their power forward void. Starting with his defense, Washington is a fantastic on-ball defender, particularly against opposing forwards, thanks to his ideal blend of size, length, discipline and strength.
According to Basketball Index, Washington ranked in the 94th percentile for matchup difficulty and the 93rd percentile for perimeter isolation defense this past season. Averaging 2.1 stocks, Washington can also wreak havoc as a help-side defender.
I'm not opposed to Jaden McDaniels guarding forwards more this year (it might be necessary, and he's an awesome defender). However, there's no denying he's more comfortable defending guards, and ideally the Wolves could find an on-ball stopper to throw on forwards -- Washington could be that guy. He is also a rugged rebounder who has averaged 6 rebounds for his career.
Offensively, Washington has some solid versatility. He can punish mismatches at will, and he's a rock-solid play-finisher around the rim. And while he shot just 32.5 percent from 3-point range last year, he offers some level of floor spacing chops, having netted 38.1 percent of his triples in the year prior. Shooting wouldn't be the main appeal with Washington, but it's fair to expect some positive regression to the mean in a better offensive ecosystem.
Adding someone with this type of two-way juice at a position of need would help solidify the Timberwolves as true title contenders.
Ultimately, if Washington is available, the Timberwolves should be blowing up the Mavericks' phone -- and based on Dallas' recent trade, this feels like a real possibility.
Add us as a preferred source on Google