One NBA writer is proposing that the Minnesota Timberwolves acquire Keldon Johnson from the San Antonio Spurs in a blockbuster trade. Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report proposed the following trade idea between the Timberwolves and Spurs:
San Antonio Spurs receive: Karl-Anthony Towns
Minnesota Timberwolves receive: Keldon Johnson, Devonte’ Graham, Cameron Payne, 2024 first-round pick (top-six-protected, via TOR) and 2025 first-round pick (via ATL)
“This swap, on the other hand, would add a potential building block in Johnson, who, at 23 years old, syncs up perfectly with Minnesota’s rapidly ascending Anthony Edwards-Jaden McDaniels duo,” Buckley wrote in his latest NBA trade column. “Graham and Payne would primarily serve money-matching purposes, though with 35-year-old Mike Conley entering the final season of his contract, it’s possible one of those players could factor into the team’s long-term plans at point guard.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
Johnson averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists last season while shooting 45.2% from the field, 32.9% from beyond the arc and 74.9% from the free-throw line. The 23-year-old recorded five double-doubles and led the Spurs in points per game.
Johnson has career NBA averages of 16.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 224 games with the Spurs. The Kentucky product signed a four-year, $74 million rookie-scale extension with San Antonio in July 2022. Johnson will make $20 million next season.
The Timberwolves could start Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Johnson, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert if Minnesota’s front office traded Towns to San Antonio for Johnson.
NBA insiders Tim MacMahon and Jamal Collier of ESPN think Towns is a player who has flown under the radar in free agency but could be a big storyline at the 2024 February trade deadline.
“There has been some discussion about Towns, but it shouldn’t be a surprise if that gets much louder as the trade deadline nears,” MacMahon wrote. “The face of the franchise for the Timberwolves has transitioned to Edwards, fresh off signing a new potential supermax extension. If Minnesota is going to make another major change, it would need to be by trading Towns.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
Added Collier: “Minnesota did not live up to expectations last season and had Towns not missed such a significant portion of the campaign with an injury, there might already be more questions surrounding that roster.”
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