Does this trade make sense for the Minnesota Timberwolves?

Depth and versatility and the two target areas for the Minnesota Timberwolves in any trade they could potentially make right now. Larry Nance Jr. addresses both of those areas and he even makes them better defensively, which is where they need to improve if they are to make the playoffs. 

Minnesota currently ranks 9th in the league in defensive rating, which is a big improvement from last season, but they are still giving up the 13th most points per game to their opponents at 106.9 points per game. If they can cut this number down by just 1-2 points per game, they could vault themselves into the Top-10 for least amount of points allowed and they will win a lot of games this year that could go either way. 

Larry Nance Jr. is not a standout defender, but he is more than capable of holding his own at either the power-forward or center position, more than can be said about Naz Reid and Jarred Vanderbilt right now. Both of these young talents do present a great future for Minnesota, but neither is really known to be a “spark” for this team. 

Right now, the Timberwolves just need more guys in their rotation that they can rely on because their “Big 3” is not going to be able to play all 82 games this year. D’Angelo Russell has already missed a couple games this year and only playing 8-9 guys deep in games, the Timberwolves are going to run out of steam very quickly if they do not add more depth. 

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This move does not guarantee that the Minnesota Timberwolves make the playoffs, but Nance would make more of an impact for this team in the frontcourt than both Josh Okogie and Jake Layman do combined. 

Okogie is in the final year of his rookie contract and Layman brings zero value to this team whatsoever right now, which is why this is a deal that would work out in Minnesota’s favor.