Outlining 3 potential avenues the Minnesota Timberwolves could take at the NBA Trade Deadline
The NBA Trade Deadline is almost here (Feb. 9), and rumors are swirling around the league. The Minnesota Timberwolves have been linked to a few players, but it’s still unknown what they may do. Here are three potential avenues the front office could take.
1. Move Naz Reid
Naz Reid has the most trade value on the team (of the guys the front office is willing to move). The Timberwolves also have an abundance of centers on their roster in Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, Luka Garza and Nathan Knight.
Once Towns returns from injury, Reid’s minutes will likely be reduced pretty significantly. Reid is also set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and it’s hard to see him returning. Would he want to return as the third option and play 15-20 minutes a night? It’s hard to say.
On the Wolves’ side, do they want to give him $10 million (whatever the price may be) when they’re already paying $90 million for their two All-NBA centers?
It’s hard to move Reid because of his contract. He’s making a little under $2 million, and the players making that kind of money are not necessarily the type of talent you want back. Some players that come to mind are Aaron Nesmith, Bones Hyland, Terance Mann and Matisse Thybulle.
There’s nothing wrong with those guys; they’re just not Reid. Other than Mann, it’s hard to see any of those other players making an impact as Reid has.
You can’t let him walk for nothing, but when is Towns coming back? If he is still weeks or months away, then keeping him may be the best choice because he’s your best option behind Gobert.
2. Could Jaylen Nowell be on the move?
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Jaylen Nowell is leaning towards leaving in free agency. After the Timberwolves moved Nowell, many believed he was going to step up in a major way. We’re still waiting for that to happen, and it feels like every time he comes into the game, he’s shooting his way out of an all-year-long slump.
You can see the pressure on Nowell’s shoulders, and playing for that next contract could be weighing on him. However, the Timberwolves are a worse team when he’s on the floor because he’s not hitting shots and getting his teammates involved or playing defense.
You’re probably not going to get much in return at the trade deadline, but maybe you can get a second-round pick. If he’s already leaning towards leaving, and he’s not impacting the game when he’s on the floor, then why not move him?
3. Is it time to move D’Angelo Russell?
You’re either in the trade D’Angelo Russell camp or you’re not; there’s no in between.
DLo has been shooting the ball extremely well this season. He’s currently averaging 46.1 percent from the field, 38.6 from 3 and 85.4 from the line.
During the month of January, he’s shooting 46.7 percent from the field, 46.3 from 3 and 87.7 from the charity stripe. The most eye-popping statistic is his 3-point efficiency, and what makes it even crazier is that he’s taking 7.2 attempts.
He’s also finding a groove within the roster construction, specifically with Anthony Edwards. Edwards is controlling the ball more, and DLo has taken more of a combo guard/spot-up role.
The problem with Russell is that while he’s giving you a scoring punch, he’s also giving it back on the defensive end. He makes questionable passes, and that results in easy buckets at the other end.
He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and Minnesota can’t afford to let him walk for nothing. The Timberwolves would lose his salary slot and would be in a tough spot financially moving forward.
If you could move him for another point guard like Fred VanVleet, Mike Conley or Kyle Lowry, then you have to at least consider it. I’m not saying he’s not better than those guys, but given the roster construction and his impending free agency, you might have to move him.
Maybe Lowry would work better in a starting lineup when the Timberwolves are fully healthy, but it might also make things worse because you’re losing Russell’s scoring punch. You have to consider what it would do to the continuity of the roster as well.
There’s a lot to consider moving forward if you’re the Timberwolves, and losing any of these players for nothing could be a pivotal mistake.