The trade deadline was highly uneventful for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. It had been rumored for weeks that the Wolves would end up not making any moves, preferring instead to continue "letting the cake bake" and working with what they have. It was probably a smart decision in the grand scheme of things, given the flexibility they will have in the offseason as well. But there was one report that came after the deadline that really made Wolves fans' eyes pop out of their skulls.
The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski made it known that Minnesota had apparently pursued a last-minute deal for Kevin Durant ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline. The trade fell apart due to complications on the Timberwolves' end of things, but this news sure created some excitement from the Minnesota faithful. KD is Anthony Edwards' favorite NBA player of all-time, and the thought of pairing them together, even at this late stage of Durant's career, is highly exciting.
So with that in mind, many began to think: Is the possibility of KD making a move to Minneapolis completely out of the question in the future? Certainly not. Maybe it is not highly likely, but it is definitely not impossible. Krawczynski joined Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor on his podcast to discuss the matter this week.
Durant would have to say he wanted to extend with Minnesota
In discussing how a Durant trade would have theoretically gone down at the deadline, O'Connor reminds everyone that the Timberwolves have virtually no draft capital to work with in constructing a potential trade. He theorizes that a deal at the deadline would have likely involved packaging Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels and sending them to Phoenix.
Looking ahead to this summer and beyond, he then points out that probably the only way Durant could end up in Minnesota would be if he went to the Suns' front office and told them he would only sign an extension with the Timberwolves. Given that he currently has one year remaining on his contract, this would force Phoenix's hand to move him, and would remove a lot of the currently limited flexibility the Wolves have when it comes to leverage.
This is a wildly exciting thought to have. Durant and Edwards playing alongside each other would be, as they say, absolute cinema. The likelihood that KD does decide he only wants to play in Minnesota going forward is not expected or likely. But we can dream.