The Minnesota Timberwolves have been stuck in neutral for well over a decade as they’ve never been good enough to be in true contention for a title and have also never been bad enough for an extended period of time to pull of a Philadelphia 76ers-style rebuild.
New Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas is about to change all of that. Rosas comes from the Daryl Morey camp of basketball management, and is a “go for broke” type of guy. The Timberwolves aren’t going to land any top free agents anytime soon to build around Karl-Anthony Towns but they also aren’t going to be bad enough with Towns in the fold to nab a top pick in the lottery. This could very well be the season where the Wolves cash in all of their chips for a buffet of assets.
Timing is key here, as teams are already jockeying for the 2022 “Super Draft.” That years draft will be the first draft in years that teams will be able to draft high schoolers again, meaning that that draft will almost assuredly be the deepest in years – if not decades.
By trading away Towns, and potentially Robert Covington as well, the Wolves could get multiple cracks in the “Super Draft.”
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Obviously, Towns would have a ton of suitors.
The team best positioned to pull off a blockbuster in the coming years are the Celtics, who own the Grizzlies and Bucks first round picks (both of which could be unprotected by 2021). Boston will also look at shopping former No. 3 overall pick Jaylen Brown in the months as it was reported this week that Brown and Danny Ainge are “way off” on contract extension talks.
The Celtics could also look to overwhelm the Wolves and ship out Gordon Hayward. Hayward represents a massive expiring contract, making him quite valuable to a team in terms of financials. The Wolves could conceivably have their books looking great by the summer of 2021.
As for the Celtics end of things, Towns is exactly what the franchise needs right now to compete in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks and Sixers will be their primary competition for the coming years, and both teams feature elite big men in Giannis and Joel Embiid. Boston desperately needs help in the front court, and is – right now – overstocked with talented wings.
A big three of Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum and Towns would likely be enough for the C’s to capture an Eastern Conference crown and potentially the whole shebang.
Other teams that could step up to the plate when it comes to Towns are the Bulls and Knicks. Despite being in top markets neither franchise has been able to attract elite free agents in recent years. This is mostly because top level free agents do not see any hope for true contention in either situation.
Cashing in a pu pu platter of young, talented players and future draft picks (of which both the Bulls and Knicks have a lot of right now) in exchange for Towns would throw both franchises a life preserver from the league’s abyss.
As we’ve seen time and again in recent years, elite talent will join other elite talent in big markets in the situation is right. No one was going to the Lakers until LeBron got there. Kawhi Leonard wasn’t going to the Clippers until he was assured that Paul George was coming with him. And Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had their eyes focused on the big market of New York for years dating back to their Team USA days.
Playing in big markets again matters in the NBA. And if you already have an elite talent in place to build around, you’re in the game.
