Timberwolves must make standout untouchable in Kevin Durant trade talks

The Minnesota Timberwolves' interest in trading for Kevin Durant has been well known. Recently, ESPN's Shams Charania confirmed the Wolves are one of the teams in the mix for Durant. While Durant's fit with the Wolves is clear, Minnesota needs to do whatever it takes to keep standout wing Jaden McDaniels. Luckily for the Wolves, there's a path where they can keep McDaniels and still land KD.

McDaniels' value is immense

McDaniels' two-way abilities are crucial to the Wolves' success. He is the Wolves' best on-ball defender while being highly disruptive off the ball. This combination makes McDaniels one of the league's best defenders. Additionally, McDaniels' developing shot-creation ability is vital. Notably, he is coming off a career-high average of 12.7 points and poured in 14.7 points per game in the playoffs.

At 24, McDaniels hasn't hit his prime yet and can further improve; that's not a player you trade. Pairing Durant and McDaniels would give the Wolves an incredible wing duo. The combination of Durant's elite three-level scoring and McDaniels' defense is highly intriguing.

It's realistic that Wolves can keep McDaniels and land KD

During a recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Shams noted that it would be appealing for the Wolves to trade for Durant without giving up McDaniels and Naz Reid. This should be a logical priority for the Wolves in any Durant trade talks, given McDaniels' two-way value and Reid's scoring prowess. This also adds a sense of realism to the possibility of keeping McDaniels and Reid in a KD trade. Notably, the Wolves didn't include McDaniels in their trade deadline proposal, and that's unlikely to change now.

Shams also reported that the Phoenix Suns and Durant's business partner, Rich Kleiman, are shifting through trade scenarios. This indicates that Durant may have a trade preference and that the Suns might be willing to essentially let him select his next team. Durant may prefer a trade to the Timberwolves, considering that they have the clearest path to title contention and his known friendship with Anthony Edwards.

If Durant prefers to be traded to the Wolves, it would give Minnesota massive leverage. Furthermore, Durant will turn 37 before next season starts and is on an expiring contract, meaning his value isn't super high to begin with. Consequently, the Wolves have a clear path to land Durant without giving up McDaniels.

One idea that has been mentioned is a trade package centered around Rudy Gobert, Donte DiVincenzo, and Rob Dillingham or Terrence Shannon Jr. The Wolves' No. 17 or 31 pick could be included as well. For the Suns, this is a solid return, especially given their lack of center depth and defense. If the San Antonio Spurs aren't willing to trade Devin Vassell and their offer is centered around Jeremy Sochan, along with the 14th pick, the Wolves could have the best offer.

In the scenario that the Wolves trade for Durant, it would be unlikely, yet not impossible, that they retain pending free agent Julius Randle. Nevertheless, including Randle in a Durant trade is diffcult. Perhaps they could work out a sign-and-trade for Randle with the Suns. However, that would require the Suns to get under the first-apron, which is unlikely as they are currently a second-apron team. Randle opting into his contract just to be dealt to the Suns feels improbable. Overall, a deal centered around Gobert is the Wolves' best chance to land Durant without giving up McDaniels. In this scenario, Randle would likely sign elsewhere.

For the Wolves, trading for Durant is a logical move as they need more shot creation next to Edwards. Durant would undoubtedly solve some of the Wolves' offensive concerns and move them closer to title contention. Still, keeping McDaniels would maximize Durant's impact with the Wolves and the team's upside overall. Ultimately, a core of Edwards, Durant, McDaniels, and Reid would give the Wolves a strong chance to win the franchise's first championship.