An enticing trade proposal has the Minnesota Timberwolves dealing their franchise star to an up-and-coming club in the Eastern Conference.
For the second straight postseason, the Timberwolves were eliminated in the first round of the postseason — falling to the eventual NBA Champion Denver Nuggets in five games.
Minnesota still hasn’t won a postseason series since 2004. Following another mediocre season in The Gopher State, one shouldn’t be surprised if the Timberwolves end up deciding to rebuild by dealing away their top player in Karl-Anthony Towns.
Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley proposed a blockbuster trade idea that has the Timberwolves sending Towns to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Terry Rozier, P.J. Washington and 2026 and 2028 first-round picks, with the former being a top-three protected selection:
“Charlotte needs a shake-up in the worst kind of way. Buying (relatively) low on Towns would be a fascinating way to make it happen.
He’d immediately plug the Hornets’ glaring void at center and team with (LaMelo) Ball in what should be one of the NBA’s best pick-and-choose tandems. Since Towns can both pop to the perimeter or roll to the rim, he’d give defenses a ton to think about while they’re also accounting for Ball, who averaged 23.3 points, 8.4 assists and 4.0 three-pointers this past season…
Minnesota, meanwhile, would concede what many figured out long ago: The Towns-Rudy Gobert partnership was doomed from the start…Considering the colossal cost of keeping it together, the Wolves should pull the plug as soon as possible.
While they’d lose the best player in this deal, they could still come out ahead. Rozier could provide stability and a succession plan beyond 35-year-old point guard Mike Conley. Washington could provide offensive spacing and better mobility on defense. Finally, the picks would help cover some of the damage done during last summer’s ill-fated Gobert trade.”
Like the Timberwolves, the Hornets have no recent postseason success to brag about. Since the franchise (previously the Charlotte Bobcats from 2004-05 from 2013-14) re-entered the league 19 years ago, they’ve made the playoffs just three times. The Hornets also haven’t won a playoff series since 2002.
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So Buckley’s proposal here makes sense for both sides. The Timberwolves and Hornets need to shake up their respective rosters in some way, and Towns could be the final piece needed to help Ball and second overall pick Brandon Miller push this team to perennial playoff contention.
Of course, it remains to be seen if the Timberwolves are actually entertaining the idea of trading Towns. And if they are, there certainly wouldn’t be a shortage of teams interested in KAT’s services.
