The Minnesota Timberwolves expected to compete for a playoff spot in the Western Conference this season. The team is currently near the bottom of the conference, as only the Steph Curry-less Golden State Warriors have a worse record.
The franchise is looking to make moves. Earlier in the season, the team reached out to the Magic about Aaron Gordon, though according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, the team’s inquiry was rebuffed. It’s not clear exactly what the offer from Minnesota was.
Gordon was not drafted by the current regime in Orlando. The team has brought in several young frontcourt players in recent years, including Jonathan Isaac and Mo Bamba. Not to mention the team just re-signed Nikola Vucevic to a four-year deal. The paint is crowded.
Gordon, who doesn’t turn 25 until next September, should garner interest from other teams if the Magic make him available. The financials behind the former No. 4 overall pick make him an even more attractive trade target. Gordon makes $19.9M this season, though his contract is one of the rare ones that decrease in value year-over-year. He’ll make $18.1M next season followed by just $16.4M in the 2021-22 campaign.
The Timberwolves fit particularly interesting, as he would be a dynamic frontcourt partner for Karl-Anthony Towns.
Timberwolves Continue To Shop Robert Covington
The Wolves continue shopping Robert Covington as they look to build a different team around Towns.
The Lakers would be a nice destination for Covington, as our own Sean Deveney explained. Covington is 6-9 with a 7-2 wingspan, big enough to guard the 4 but athletic enough to handle 3s. Perhaps a package around Kyle Kuzma could get him to Los Angeles.
Covington has no shortage of interest around the league. The Sixers have eyes for their former wing. Philadelphia traded him away last season in the Jimmy Butler deal, though with Butler jettisoned to Miami, the team could again have use for RoCo.
The Mavericks have also been linked to Covington. They were eyeing a wing and a big man as of last week, though they satisfied their appetite for a center, as they acquired two: Willie-Cauley Stein and Justin Patton. Dallas likely isn’t done shopping.
Don’t Blame KAT/Wiggins For Timberwolves Woes?
If a team is struggling, many times its because its core players are not performing up to their typical standards. However, the Wolves don’t believe its Towns or Andrew Wiggins’ fault that the team is dwindling in the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
“This team is so used to KAT and Wigs doing all the work that when it doesn’t happen, we just stand around,’’ reserve guard Shabazz Napier said (via Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “That’s how it is. We just gotta find ways to help them guys out. … We all, the role players, have to figure out, how do we help them out better?’’
The team is looking for ways to boost the talent around its core players and Minnesota is expected to at least parse out deals prior to the NBA trade deadline, which is February 6.
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Timberwolves Shopping Robert Covington, Had Eyed Aaron Gordon Trade