Why The Minnesota Timberwolves Do The Deal 

Realistically, that depends on whether you think the Wolves have a new franchise player. 

It’s hard to deny Anthony Edwards’ talent. Unfortunately, he’s looked a little hamstrung in Minnesota this season. By pairing Towns and Rudy Gobert, the Wolves have built a team that plays at a slow pace. That’s not ideal for Edwards. 

This deal helps them remedy that. Their new starting frontcourt would likely consist of Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, and Bojan Bogdanovic.

That’s a group that can pick up the pace a little – and lineups featuring McDaniels as a small ball 5 with Bogdanovic at the 4 should break necks. 

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Of course, this is generally a downgrade for the Wolves in a win-now sense. They’ll be hoping for addition by subtraction, but they’ll also be getting four first-round picks for losing the best player in this deal. 

Perhaps they could use them to create their own shortcut to contention later.