Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: F/C Al Horford, 2024 First-Round Pick (BOS)

Boston Celtics Receive: G D’Angelo Russell

This deal may leave some scratching their heads. The Timberwolves already feature superstar Karl-Anthony Towns at center. Why would they swap Russell for an overqualified, overpaid backup?

Well, simply put, Horford is a combo big. He can survive minutes at the four spot. He may not be a conventional sixth man, but his positional versatility could allow him to function as a highly effective one.

The Wolves could start the game with Horford on the bench, bring him in early in the first quarter at the four, and then shift him to the five when Towns is ready for a breather. His defensive portability would cover for Towns’ shortcomings in that area when they did share the floor together.

In our minds, that sounds like an experiment worth undertaking. At the same time, the Wolves may feel differently. If they don’t want to allocate such a large percentage of cap space to the center position, that’s a reasonable position.

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If that is how their front office feels, this next trade may suit them more.