Halfway through the season, the Minnesota Timberwolves are still on top of the Western Conference rankings with the best defense in the league, but the team is still far from perfect. Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels have been the backbone of the Timberwolves’ defensive success so far, placing first overall when it comes to defensive rating (108.8), opponent field goal percentage (50.9) and various other statistics.
However, despite their success on one side of the floor, the other has been quite the opposite. When it comes to offensive rating (114.7), the Timberwolves are the 11th worse offense in the NBA, which may affect them later on if they have the aspirations to make a deep playoff run.
Should the Minnesota Timberwolves Trade for This Scoring Guard?
Stagnant Offense
Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns lead the squad in scoring, being the only players on the roster to average over 20 points per game consistently, with Gobert’s 13.2 trailing in third place. This is clearly a problem that needs to be addressed, as the front office looked to add some scoring to the bench during the offseason, with Shake Milton and Troy Brown Jr. being the main additions.
Unfortunately, Milton has been having a very disappointing season so far, averaging only five points in just over 13 minutes of playing time, a significant decrease from his time in Philadelphia, the main reason the Timberwolves offered him a two-year $10 million deal, with a team option at the end of this current season. As for Brown, he is more valued for his 3-and-D playstyle, being a versatile player on both ends of the floor, but still far from the ideal piece to come off the bench. Aside from these two, Kyle Anderson has also been under fire from Timberwolves supporters all over social media, as he looks like a shadow of his former self, even slower than the reason his nickname is “Slo-Mo”, to the point of him being almost a central target to the other teams’ offensive schemes.
It has been the Naz Reid show for the second unit, with the undrafted center playing his career-best basketball so far this season, averaging a career-high 13 points a night. With that, it’s clear to the front office that another offensive weapon needs to be added by the trade deadline, and they may be ready to dispose of the franchise’s most recent signings.
What’s the Solution?
Over in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons have been looking like a dumpster fire for the majority of the year, beating the record for most consecutive losses in a season. However, they do have a very talented roster, filled with bright young stars like Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren, as well as valued veterans like Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks. Burks, in particular, has drawn interest from Timberwolves GM Tim Connelly.
Burks is a 12-year NBA veteran, playing a meaningful role for organizations like the Jazz, Warriors and the Knicks. He played his best offensive basketball with Golden State, averaging a career-high 16.1 points per game despite their poor record at the time. Now in Detroit, Burks has been a consistent scorer, having a very important role on the team’s offense, closing out in tightly disputed bouts, and sometimes even being the sole reason they stay competitive in those same matchups.
Per Bleacher Report‘s Dan Favale, a simple package involving both Milton and Brown Jr., along with Utah’s 2025 second round pick, could be enough to allure Detroit into accepting a deal. Both Wolves wouldn’t affect the Pistons’ cap-space plans, with neither having a guaranteed contract for next season.
How’s the Fit?
Being a shifty scoring guard, Burks would add a lot value to the Timberwolves’ second unit, just like he does in Detroit. His ability to handle the ball, taking that primary ball-handler role off the bench, along with his very effective outside shooting (40.3% three-point field goal efficiency). Though his individual defensive skills aren’t the best, the team’s system would allow him to just be on his regular coverage, hiding the possibilty of him being a liability.
This move wouldn’t be the sole cure to the Minnesota Timberwolves’s offensive struggles, but with such a potentially acessible assest swap, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to pull the trigger just in case it’s a home-run deal. By trading the two most recent arrivals to the franchise, the Timberwolves would still be able to move Kyle Anderson along with one of the younger players, like Wendell Moore Jr. or Josh Minnott, for a better true guard option off the bench, like Tyus Jones, or something different entirely according to the roster’s needs.
