Amid all of the star pursuit rumors, there have been some rumblings that the Minnesota Timberwolves should essentially salary dump Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert for nothing more than some contracts and for a chance to get a few draft picks in their asset chest. When Jake Fischer said that Ayo Dosunmu is the biggest addition we can expect from the Wolves, this speculation ramped up.
The motive for this would be to truly see what the under-26 core has to offer and reset the cap sheet. It would empower guys like Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, Joan Beringer, and Terrence Shannon Jr. to have bigger roles so we can see whether they are foundational pieces or better suited as trade chips.
I see the reasoning, but this would be a big mistake. Taking a step back as a team might not sit well with Anthony Edwards.
When you have a generational player on your team like him, you do everything to keep them in the championship hunt; otherwise, they can grow unhappy and leave.
The Timberwolves need to keep Anthony Edwards in the best situation possible
Players like Edwards come around once in an extremely long time for a franchise. Edwards is the best thing this team has had going for it since the Kevin Garnett days, and most of all, he enjoys Minnesota and wants to stay here long-term. Doing anything to jeopardize those feelings could be a potential franchise-altering mistake.
In all six years Edwards has been in the league, he's never played with a true star point guard. The closest thing he's had was D'Angelo Russell early in his career. Gobert and Randle are two players who might be able to fetch a true franchise-changing point guard on the trade market, and you have to take advantage of that.
Getting a star point guard would take this team to new heights, while also empowering the younger players by giving them someone who can set them up with good shots. It is the best of both worlds.
You shouldn't ever risk having a superstar waste his prime on a team that isn't going all-in for a championship.
Timberwolves need to make trades this summer with a championship mindset, not a reset mindset
It's no secret that it's all but a guarantee that at least one of the starting frontcourt players will be traded this offseason, but what the Wolves will get in return stays a mystery. They could look to package both for a megastar, they could look to trade one of them for a flawed star, or they could trade one or both for depth pieces and draft picks.
I think the ideal path the Wolves could take is to trade one of them for a flawed star (ie, Kyrie Irving, Ja Morant), and then look to trade the other for maybe a couple of depth pieces and potentially a first-round pick. This way, you get the best of both worlds, as you maintain an extremely competitive team with championship aspirations while building for the future.
The Wolves need to operate desperately in this offseason by doing everything they can to put together a championship-caliber roster around Edwards.
They aren't far away, and with a few savvy moves, the Wolves should be able to give themselves a puncher's chance at the top of the mountain. However, standing pat and not maximizing the roster around Ant could lead to a disaster that nobody wants to see.
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