Grade the trade: Timberwolves send KAT to Clippers in proposed deal

We know that the Minnesota Timberwolves' roster has undergone a good bit of work since the end of this past season on May 30. They are now deeper and more equipped to handle the pressures that come with playing in the extremely talented Western Conference.

However, despite loads of evidence to the contrary, there are still some that speculate the Wolves could make a big, roster-altering move before the start of next season. In the unlikely scenario they were to attempt such a thing, moving Karl-Anthony Towns is probably the most obvious choice.

Some just seem determined to separate KAT from Minnesota, for whatever reason. But even though the Timberwolves are still planning on retaining him, there is no question that a team like the LA Clippers would be delighted to add Towns to their roster.

The Clippers of course need more star power after losing Paul George, and KAT would certainly give them that. Bleacher Report recently devised a three-team trade with Minnesota and the Brooklyn Nets that would get LA what they want.

Would the Timberwolves agree to this trade?

Trades in the NBA these days are difficult, due to the stringent financial restrictions. But this deal would be totally legal and would get the Clippers their new running mate for Kawhi Leonard. The more important question is why the Timberwolves would look at this trade proposal for longer than five seconds in real life.

Sure, getting Cam Johnson, Terance Mann, and Dorian Finney-Smith along with a pick is far from the worst return we have ever seen in a deal like this. But it still pales in comparison to many of the reported return values we have seen from teams interested in KAT in reality.

Sending out one star-caliber player and getting back three rotation-level players is not the end of the world, but the Timberwolves could simply do so much better. Towns' value remains high due to his versatility, and settling for something like this would be a mistake.

The final straw is that B/R's proposal does not get Minnesota anywhere closer to a championship. Adding any of Johnson, Mann or Finney-Smith to this Wolves roster on their own would be a win, but not at the expense of giving up Towns. If this trade were executed in real life, Timberwolves fans would be hard pressed to say the roster did not take a step back.

Grade: C