Ahead of the February 5 trade deadline, the Minnesota Timberwolves seem destined to make a move, especially for a point guard. However, adding a star can be ruled out. The Wolves were reportedly monitoring Trae Young and Ja Morant. On Wednesday, though, Jake Fischer reported that the Wolves are interested in any star guard, mainly due to salary concerns.
"How many key players would the Wolves have to sacrifice to match Young's salary? Answer: Too many," Fischer wrote. "Ditto for Morant or Ball ... especially during the season. The Wolves have prized depth ever since they made the difficult decision to part with Karl-Anthony Towns to turn that contract into Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. I've been told pretty emphatically this week that Minnesota is not only uninvolved on the Young front but also isn't chasing any high-priced guards."
Fischer went on to note that if the Timberwolves pull off a trade for a PG, they are focused on adding a mid-tier-salaried player. He mentioned Rob Dillingham and Mike Conley as trade candidates. While some fans might be disappointed by this report, it's undoubtedly in the Wolves' best interest to target a player who is a notch below stardom.
A star point guard would be too expensive for Minnesota
The biggest reason why the Wolves should (and will) avoid adding a star-level guard is salary. In the "tax apron" era, depth has never been more important, and the Timberwolves (who are just below the dreaded second apron) would have to cut into their already limited depth to make such a move.
With Julius Randle on an affordable $30.8 million contract, the Wolves would have to include more players to trade for someone like Young, Morant, or Ball. This is especially true for Young, who is on a $45.9 million deal. Frankly, Randle is better than all of these players now, so such a move is not prudent. Trading Naz Reid and even more depth is also not logical for the Wolves, who rank in the bottom 10 in bench scoring.
All of Young, Ball, and Ja are having down seasons. Furthermore, between injuries and playstyle concerns, none of them would be a seamless fit in Minnesota. Now, if the price were right, would adding one of these three guards make sense? Of course it would -- but the price isn't right, and thus a move isn't in the cards.
Ultimately, all roads lead to the Wolves targeting a guard with an annual salary of less than $20 million.
The Timberwolves have made two straight conference finals appearances. As a result, they don't need to overhaul their core, and simply landing a high-quality rotational guard could set them up for another deep playoff run.
Collin Sexton is my personal favorite higher-end target, and Fischer has previously linked him to Minnesota. Beyond that, I would look into Dennis Schroder, Tre Jones, and Ayo Dosunmu. Budget options, including Kris Dunn and Jose Alvarado, are also worth looking at.
My larger point is that the Wolves have several options outside of trading for a star guard.