The Minnesota Timberwolves are in a great position to end their three-year playoff drought. 2018 is the only time they have made the NBA postseason since 2004, but they are poised to end that streak in 2022.
Chris Finch has done a great job in his first full season on the job, as the Timberwolves are currently 26-25 and in seventh place in the Western Conference. They are only four games behind the fourth-place Utah Jazz, so there is a path for them to avoid the Play-In Tournament and lock down a top-six seed.
The trade deadline will be a good time for Minnesota to fill the gaps on their roster. They have star foundational players in Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. D’Angelo Russell is a good No. 3, but they could certainly use a little more help behind those three.
With about a week until the deadline, the Minnesota Timberwolves will explore different avenues to upgrade the team. They could use a little more defense overall, as they have plenty of offensive weapons.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: 3 Trade Targets For Minnesota Timberwolves To Keep Tabs On
According to Bleacher Report, one player that could be on their target list is Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics. Smart is being considered because the team is going over different scenarios involving free agent to be, Patrick Beverley, and Malik Beasley.
Before Patrick Beverley reaches free agency, Minnesota is exploring trade avenues involving its veteran point guard in addition to the Timberwolves’ conversations regarding Malik Beasley. Marcus Smart has been mentioned as a recent target for Minnesota who would fill Beverley’s integral role in the Wolves’ starting lineup.
There were some talks earlier in the season that the Timberwolves were interested in working out an extension with Beverley, but plans have seemingly changed. Knowing they can use his expiring contract to bolster a package may be more enticing than retaining him on a new contract.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: 3 Trade Targets For Minnesota Timberwolves To Keep Tabs On
Smart would fit well into the role that Beverley has, taking over as the team’s go-to defender in the starting lineup. He is a capable ball-handler and playmaker as well alongside Russell. The only area that the Minnesota Timberwolves would suffer in is 3-point shooting.
Smart isn’t afraid to shoot the ball, but he isn’t very efficient when he does it. He is a career 31.9 percent shooter from 3-point range. Beverley, on the other hand, is a 37.8 percent shooter from distance in his career.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: 3 Trade Targets For Minnesota Timberwolves To Keep Tabs On
Beasley has shown the potential to provide an excellent scoring punch on the second unit. Could he be someone the Boston Celtics are interested in to bolster their offense, as they are beginning to figure things out again defensively?
Boston and Minnesota could match up on a deal, but there would likely need to be a third team involved to take on Beasley or Beverley. Boston can take only take on one of them unless they included someone else, such as Josh Richardson with some more salary filler.
