Why This Trade Would Benefit The Minnesota Timberwolves
It has been a real struggle for the Minnesota Timberwolves to build a winning team around Karl-Anthony Towns. There’s no denying his talents but at some point, it may be best to shift course to building around Anthony Edwards with plenty of assets to get it done.
After making the trade for D’Angelo Russell, the Timberwolves will not have their own 1st round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft unless they finish within the top-three of the order. That appears unlikely to occur at this current moment.
Under the assumption the Timberwolves won’t have their 2021 1st round pick, is there enough for them to actually improve around Karl-Anthony Towns? Russell doesn’t appear to have much room left to reach in his development and Edwards isn’t considered a transcendent prospect.
The Timberwolves spent significant salary-cap space to keep Malik Beasley long-term, for whatever reason. As a result, there will be very little room to make free agency additions until the 2023-24 league-year and that’s tough as a franchise that already isn’t an attractive destination.
Ultimately, it appears the Minnesota Timberwolves do not have the necessary assets to reach the top tier in the Western Conference in the near future. Will Karl-Anthony Towns be satisfied waiting a lot longer for the non-guaranteed outcome of the team improving? That remains to be seen.
