Minnesota Timberwolves
Karl-Anthony Towns making the All-NBA 3rd team this year makes him eligible to sign a supermax extension that would kick in two years from now. The Timberwolves should think long and hard about committing 35 percent of its salary cap to a player whose offense can disappear in big moments and whose defense is AWOL most moments.
This moment now, two years from free agency, might be his highest trade value. Here’s one trade idea, with a familiar team:
Towns to Hawks for John Collins, 16th pick, and 2023 first-round draft pick (via Hornets)
Atlanta would probably love to get Young an All-NBA minted co-star, albeit one in pole position for the league’s worst 1/5 defensive duo.
Meanwhile, Collins, used to being a tertiary option, might welcome the familiar role in a new environment with a charismatic star in Anthony Edwards, while presenting a clear defensive upgrade over Towns. And the two draft picks involved could net decent role players who develop within the next three to four years into good-enough role players for an Anthony Edwards-led team to have a 2022 Memphis Grizzlies, or even 2020 Miami Heat-style season.
Here’s another Timberwolves trade idea:
D’Angelo Russell and Michael Beasley OR Patrick Beverley to Lakers for Russell Westbrook, Lakers’ 2026 pick swap, and 2027 pick
The Lakers are in a deep hole, one made by their own digging the previous two offseasons, but LeBron James teams have been known to keep digging. To them, Russell, a good shooter who can pass, and either a heat check guy or a small 3-and-D player on one-year deals could give a delusional franchise just enough hope of sniffing contention immediately.
(And no, sadly, even if Westbrook was traded to a team with his first archnemesis – he’s had a few – Beverley, he’d likely be bought out before asked to play there).
For the Timberwolves, the 2021 Hawks should serve as a reminder that growth is not always linear, but future Lakers’ picks are worth salivating over.