Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: G/F Tim Hardaway Jr., F Dorian Finney-Smith
Dallas Mavericks Receive: G D’Angelo Russell
Of course, the debate about how to build an NBA champion isn’t strictly narrowed to “heliocentric” vs “team first.” There are plenty of nuances outside of that question that teams need to contend with.
For example: is size more important or speed? In the NBA’s pace-and-space era, many teams have opted to “go small”. Perhaps the most significant developments have come at the power forward position.
Where the average 4 used to function as a second big, many teams now stash an extra wing at that position. That allows them to play faster, and open up the floor.
At the same time, there’s something to be said for size. Being able to bludgeon opponents will always have a benefit. For example, look at Giannis Antetokounmpo. Some of the league’s more forward-thinking organizations would likely have shifted him to the center spot already.
Not the Bucks. They’ve paired him with Brook Lopez and used that size advantage to bully their way to an NBA championship.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: D’Angelo Russell, Minnesota Timberwolves & Dallas Mavericks Updates
The Minnesota Timberwolves will hope to play a similar brand of bully ball next season. They just acquired Rudy Gobert – now, they’ll deploy Karl-Anthony Towns at the power forward position. It will be interesting to see how their experiment unfolds:
Does this deal give them a better chance of yielding success from it?
