Timberwolves' Coby White trade possibility has one glaring red flag

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves are interested in trading for Coby White. While nothing is imminent, given the Wolves' need for a point guard and that White wouldn't come at a premium price, this would make a lot of sense. White's blazing speed, playmaking, and shooting would make him an ideal fit with the Wolves offensively.

However, there's one big problem with trading for White: he's a free agent next summer. Cowley's reporting floated around the idea of trading Donte DiVincenzo, Terrence Shannon Jr., and draft capital. By all accounts, it's a reasonable package for a scorer of White's caliber. Plus, acquiring someone on a $12.8 million deal isn't a big financial commitment at face value.

Still, as mentioned, White's pending free agency complicates things for a Wolves team that is near the second tax apron.

A Coby White trade is riskier than you think

I'm not saying this should stop the Wolves from trading for White. Overall, I think White is the most talented guard you can get for a reasonable cost, and he'd solve a lot of problems for the Wolves. Nevertheless, there's no denying that White's contract situation complicates matters.

Currently, the Wolves are projected to be $8 million below the second apron. So there is some wiggle room, which they could use to re-sign him in the offseason. The trouble is that this projection is that the Wolves have five free agents (before White). Unless White is comfortable giving up some money, re-signing him without dipping into the second apron would be tricky.

Now, the Wolves have shown a willingness to go into the second apron, and that's fine. However, if you're going into the second apron (which not only has harsh financial penalties, but team-building ones), you'd better make sure your team can win a championship. For reference, the Cleveland Cavaliers are the lone second apron team currently, and we saw every other team try to dodge it this offseason.

What if the Wolves trade for White and they lose in the first-round? I'm not saying that's likely, but in the Western Conference, that's a real possibility. Would ownership feel comfortable with committing to this core after that? I don't think so.

Even if they make a deep playoff run, it's possible the Wolves would look to duck the second apron, given how restrictive it is in terms of team building. With this in mind, the Wolves could look to trade one of their bigger salaries (likely Rudy Gobert or Naz Reid) before free agency.

Both Gobert and Reid have been essential to their success, though. How would the Wolves maintain their defense without Gobert? Likewise, their bench has struggled outside of Reid. Ultimately, White is certainly worth pursuing for the Wolves, but it's far from a no-brainer move; in fact, it would be quite a risky one.