Minnesota Timberwolves fans are more than aware of the conversations regarding Kevin Durant that began just after last month's trade deadline. The team attempted to make a trade for the Phoenix Suns' star ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline, but a deal fell through in the last moments due to disagreements on the framework of a potential deal.
It was probably for the best, given how much Minnesota was probably going to have to give up in order to make it happen. But fortunately or unfortunately, this discussion is far from over. The Timberwolves are expected to remain interested in Durant this coming offseason. The asking price may still be too high, but it looks like they will at least have their ears open.
Some new intel from HoopsHype's Michael Scotto was released on Friday, and it details some more specifics of what the discussions between the Timberwolves and Suns were like leading up to the trade deadline. According to Scotto, Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo were discussed as players that could have been included in a potential deal for Durant.
DiVo, Randle discussed in trade talks, Suns showed interest in Naz Reid
Scotto also notes that Naz Reid "drew interest from the Suns" as the two teams were discussing which players to include in a hypothetical deal. Both these bits of information prove to us what we already knew: that Minnesota employs several players that are highly coveted around the league.
Of course Phoenix wanted Randle and/or DiVincenzo, that should be a given. If you are going to give up a guy like Kevin Durant, you have to get significant scoring and playmaking production back in return. And then when it comes to Reid, the Suns can simply get in line behind all the other teams that want to acquire his services.
We know that Reid is expected to decline his player option this coming offseason and seek out a new long-term contract, but we also know that the Timberwolves are likely going to make it a high priority to get him back in town. Tim Connelly could still pull off a deal for Durant this summer, but the odds of it actually happening feel increasingly low. This team is rolling right now, and they frankly do not need to shake things up to bring in an aging KD.