Minnesota Timberwolves: What to give up in a Ben Simmons trade

The Minnesota Timberwolves should be aggressive in their pursuit of Ben Simmons.

It’s no secret that there are several teams desperate to poach Ben Simmons away from the Philadelphia 76ers if that is still possible. One of the teams interested is the Minnesota Timberwolves. And it should come as no surprise.

The Wolves haven’t been much of a player in the Western Conference over the last few seasons – since they elected to trade away Jimmy Butler – and even though they have some intriguing, talented young players on their roster, they still finished 13th in the West standings and with the seventh-worst record in the league last season.

Minnesota doesn’t appear close to contention with its current roster and clearly needs to make some changes if they wish to change that narrative. And targeting Simmons is one way to possibly do that.

What should the Minnesota Timberwolves be open to moving for Ben Simmons?

The big question for Minnesota regarding their interest in Simmons is how much should the team be willing to move? Looking at the Wolves roster, there are two players that should absolutely be off-limits – Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards.

After that, the Wolves shouldn’t hesitate to move any combination of players and/or picks. So what could a potential package look like?

Any package for Simmons would likely have to start with D’Angelo Russell and/or Malik Beasley. The question is whether that would be enough to get the Sixers interested. If not, perhaps that’s why there’s a belief that the Wolves would need to bring in a third team to discussions to get a deal done.

For the Sixers, I’m not sure if a Russell, Beasley, or even both is something that will get them overly excited and ready to pull the trigger on a Simmons trade. There may be another offer out there that would automatically beat this one from Minnesota, and that’s considering that Simmons’ trade value is arguably at an all-time low.

For the Wolves, the only way that they could guarantee landing Simmons is if they either offer Edwards to the Sixers (assuming they like him as a prospect) or if they dangle Edwards to a third team in an attempt to find an all-star caliber veteran that would be a better fit in Phiadelphia..

But there’s no way the Wolves should move on from Edwards for Simmons. At least not after the rookie season he just had. Despite the concerns that surround him, Edwards still managed to average 19 points, five rebounds, and three assists per game during his rookie season.

He had flashes of greatness and was playing the best basketball of his rookie season during the latter portion of the year.

The Wolves should absolutely be interested in Simmons. And, quite frankly, they should be aggressive. At the same time, this is not the player you mortgage the future for.

Next. Are the Chicago Bulls the most intriguing team in the Eastern Conference?. dark

If Minnesota can add Simmons to Edwards and Towns, then it could really get interesting for the Wolves.

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Minnesota Timberwolves: What a Ben Simmons trade could look like

By Michael Saenz | Aug 19, 2021

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What should the Minnesota Timberwolves be open to moving for Ben Simmons?