Over the 30-plus years the Minnesota Timberwolves have been in existence, several trades sent fans pondering—why? Minnesota has struggled to retain talent, parted with high-potential players, and cycled through a multitude of coaches throughout the franchise's history.
Despite an unfortunate history, the Wolves haven't made that many boneheaded trades. There's no Kobe Bryant for Vlade Divac or Dirk Nowitzki for Robert Traylor deals to denote. However, several unbalanced deals would certainly be traded for team success—something Minnesota hasn't seen… until now.
All in all, the Timberwolves' history isn't ravaged by moronic trades (there was strict scrutiny following the Rudy Gobert acquisition, but that's long forgotten now). Nevertheless, there are still quite a bit of odd and downright foolish trades the Minnesota brass has agreed to over the years. Below, we've ranked 10 of the Wolves' worst trades in the team's 34-year history.
10. Swapping Big Al for little assets
First up, a player involved in multiple trades throughout his Minnesota tenure—Al Jefferson. The low-post star was once the prize of the yet-to-be-mentioned Kevin Garnett megadeal. "Big Al" starred for the Wolves as soon as he came to Minnesota.
Jefferson averaged career-highs in points, rebounds, and assists in his first season in Minnesota. He only got better as time went on. By 2008-09, the big man upped his averages to 23.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game.
However, Jefferson's career in Minnesota was short-lived. The Wolves dealt Big Al when he was just 25 years old, entering his prime. The trade was in part due to Minnesota's preferred playstyle behind new hire Kurt Rambis. Rambis aimed to play fast and prioritized defenders—two of Jefferson's flaws.
In Jefferson's third season, his floor time and points per game decreased. Ultimately, the Wolves dealt Big Al for an underwhelming return in the 2010 offseason. Minnesota received center Kosta Koufus and two future late first-rounders.