Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: C Andre Drummond, CLE 2021 1st Round Pick, SAS 2022 2nd Round Pick, CLE 2023 1st Round Pick, CLE 2025 1st Round Pick (Top-5 Protected)
Cleveland Cavaliers Receive: C Karl-Anthony Towns, F Jarred Vanderbilt
Now that is quite a hefty trade package the Cleveland Cavaliers would be sending the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns. While it may seem like a lot on Cleveland’s end, the asking price for KAT is as high as it will ever be right now, especially since the T-Wolves are unsure if they even want to trade Towns.
It would be well worth it for the Cavaliers though because Karl-Anthony Towns would end up being the second best player to ever play in Cleveland behind LeBron James. Towns is a generational type talent at the center position and if the Cavs were able to acquire him to pair with their young core, they could be a legit playoff team and potentially more as their young talents continue to grow.
Andre Drummond has consistently been one of the league’s top big men, as he has averaged a double-double for the last 9 seasons, leading the NBA in rebounding in four of those seasons, and is doing the same so far this season. As for Drummond’s game, he may not be the stretch big man a lot of teams are looking for in today’s NBA, resulting in him receiving less and less attention, but he is still a monster on the glass.
Over the course of his career, Andre Drummond has averaged 13.8 rebounds/game and 1.6 blocks/game, making him a reliable defensive player in the paint. He is not the agile and versatile big man that Karl-Anthony Towns is, but is honestly probably a better overall rebounder and paint player than Towns.
If Cleveland was able to pull off this trade somehow, it would do wonders for them in terms of finishing the rebuild LeBron left them with and for Minnesota, adding Drummond could free up some much-needed cap room as he is set to be a free agent at the conclusion of this season.
With that being said, let’s take a closer look as to why this trade benefits both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
