With Kyrie Irving seemingly unavailable in trade talks, Jalen Suggs is quickly becoming one of my favorite trade targets for the Minnesota Timberwolves this offseason. I get it, the Wolves need a true second option and Suggs isn't that. But realistically, what player is a high-end second option and an ideal fit that the Wolves can trade for?
Suggs might not be a star, but he'd be a seamless fit alongside Anthony Edwards. As a scalable complementary guard, Suggs is one of the more coveted archetypes in the league. Two years ago, we saw the Boston Celtics win the championship (in dominant fashion) with two of these types of guards: Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.
If we operate under the assumption that the Wolves will re-sign Ayo Dosunmu, the Wolves could recreate the Celtics' championship backcourt.
What the Celtics proved is that guards who are defensive-minded and have a comfort level on or off the ball are ideal fits next to ball-dominant stars. Anthony Edwards isn't exactly the same as Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown and yes, he still would need a classic No. 2 option (maybe Jaden McDaniels blossoms into that).
However, from the standpoint that Ant is an elite isolation scorer and ball-dominant player who isn't a true lead guard, he is similar to the Jays.
And thus it's fair to believe Edwards would thrive next to two versatile guards -- Ayo already proved to be a seamless fit. Donte DiVincenzo's off-ball abilities also proved to be a perfect complement to Edwards.
Trading for Suggs could give the Timberwolves a championship backcourt
With the Orlando Magic having a high payroll and the need to ink a new deal with rising star Anthony Black, Suggs is a highly realistic trade candidate. Whether it's a deal centered around Rudy Gobert or a three-team deal involving either Rudy or Julius Randle, trading for Suggs makes too much sense for the Wolves.
It might sound like a cliché, but Suggs is a winning player.
He is a tremendous perimeter defender, with connective playmaking chops and some shot creation juice. Suggs also makes little plays that lead to winning, whether that's making the extra pass, diving on the floor for loose balls, getting defensive stops, or flying in for a rebound. Simply put, every team could use a Jalen Suggs.
Whether it's guards or wings, these types of complementary players are always on championship-winning teams.
I also must address one common red flag about Suggs: his 3-point shooting. To state the obvious, a career 3-point shooting percentage of 33.1 isn't ideal.
Furthermore, what makes Holiday and White so valuable isn't just their defense, connective playmaking and occasional creation -- it's their shooting. That's what allows them to play off stars so seamlessly. At the surface level, this could prevent Suggs from being a truly elite complementary guard.
But the reality is, Suggs can shoot -- he's just been forced to play a role that doesn't suit him due to Orlando's poor roster.
Last year, Suggs netted 39 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s. The Magic's offense has simply counted on him too much as a pull-up shooter -- that's not his game and that's not what the Wolves would be counting on him for. Suggs would thrive in a spot-up role alongside Ant.
We've seen players develop as shooters in the right offensive ecosystem. With the San Antonio Spurs, White shot a ho-hum 34.4 percent from beyond the arc on 3.7 attempts per game. Yet in Boston, White has upped his volume to 7.0 triples a game while netting 36.6 percent of them, including 39.6 percent during the Celtics' 2024 run.
There's no reason why Suggs can't make a similar leap, which, paired with everything else he provides, would make him an excellent fit next to Ant-Man.
In tandem with Ayo, the Wolves could have an ideal backcourt to support Edwards -- even if neither Suggs nor Dosunmu is an All-Star-level player. The modern NBA is becoming increasingly about building a team that fits around your star and not having any weak links.
Trading for Suggs would help accomplish this goal and could ultimately help the Wolves bring home their first-ever championship.
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