Should the Timberwolves Trade Towns?
Last offseason, the Minnesota Timberwolves hired a new President of Basketball Operations, Tim Connelly. Connelly, a former Denver Nuggets front office member joined the Timberwolves on May 23, 2022. A little over a month later, on July 6, 2022, Connelly made his first splash in Minnesota.
They acquired three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert, in a deal with the Utah Jazz. In exchange for Gobert, the Timberwolves sent back the following: Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Leandro Bolmaro, Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt, a 2023 first-round pick, a 2025 first-round pick, a 2026 first-round pick swap, a 2027 first-round pick, and a 2029 first-round pick (top-five protected)—a total of five picks and five players.
Fast forward to this season, the Gobert experiment isn’t going as well as the Timberwolves organization had anticipated when they made the blockbuster deal. They finished the season with a 42-40 record and are losing 3-1 as the eighth seed to the number one-seeded Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Minnesota’s Rollercoaster Season
Minnesota has had quite the up-and-down season. They managed to avoid a sweep from Denver in the playoffs. Being swept was something star guard Anthony Edwards said he never wanted in his career, so he took Game 4 “personally.” Edwards is only 21 and already has the look of a legitimate NBA star that the Timberwolves can build their franchise around. In Game 4, he finished with 34 points, six rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and two steals, demonstrating his talent as a two-way star in the league.
Unfortunately, there are more question marks than bright spots surrounding this Timberwolves season. While they managed to make the playoffs and have a superstar in Edwards, they are now in a confusing spot as a team that sacrificed future assets to win now when they should’ve been more patient. The type of deal they made for Gobert is a deal a team competing for a title should make, not someone fighting to make the playoffs. Besides their lost draft picks, the Gobert situation generally has gone poorly.
What Should Be the Timberwolves’ Next Move?
Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns are an awkward pairing together on the court with two bigs. Edwards doesn’t like the clogged lanes on offense, either. In addition to the poor on-court fit, the Timberwolves have made headlines for the wrong reasons, with questions surrounding their team chemistry and maturity.
During a crucial playoff-seed-defining game, forward Jaden McDaniels fractured his hand, punching a wall. In the same chaotic game, Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson had an altercation that led to Gobert swinging at Anderson.
It’s clear Minnesota needs to make some changes. The question is, what should their next move be?
The Timberwolves need to recoup some of the draft assets they lost as part of the questionable Gobert trade. In addition, the Gobert and Towns frontcourt pairing has yet to work as Minnesota initially expected. Therefore, trading away Gobert or KAT makes sense for the Timberwolves.
The Case for Trading Karl Anthony-Towns
As talented as Karl-Anthony Towns (KAT) is, he had a real plus-minus rating of 0.42 this season. That was good for 135th among all players. On the other hand, Gobert finished the season 24th amongst all players with a 5.10 RPM. So Gobert isn’t necessarily a better player than KAT, but he is arguably more valuable for this Minnesota team. In addition, teams around the league perceive Towns as a higher-valued commodity. So, Minnesota would get a much better return for him.
It also concerns the Timberwolves building a defensive identity. Jaden McDaniels is still only 22 years old and an excellent defender. By focusing on Gobert and McDaniels alongside a rising superstar in Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves will have a true identity, which they lacked this season. The plays will heavily revolve around Edwards’ scoring and playmaking on offense. On defense, Minnesota will funnel players into Gobert, with McDaniels locking down the opposing team’s best wing player.
Edwards is 21, McDaniels is 22, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker is 24 and is an underrated player. Minnesota had no reason to push their chips to go all-in on Gobert since he didn’t match the rest of their team’s timeline. But now that the damage is done, it might make sense to get some of those lost assets back.
Minnesota still has a young core led by an All-Star that continues to improve in Edwards. They also have a three-time Defensive Player of the Year in Gobert. Despite what mistakes were made in the past, they still have a bright future if they can continue to build around Edwards. And that starts with trading Towns.
