Minnesota Timberwolves listed as possible surprise destination for Trae Young

One of the biggest weeks of the NBA offseason is here. The 2024 NBA Draft will take place on Wednesday night and it’s still possible that trading could drop this week as well. Atlanta needs to figure out what to do with the Trae Young/Dejounte Murray backcourt, as well as other veteran players such as Clint Capela and De’Andre Hunter. This team could look a lot different by the time the season starts in October.

Before we delve into that, I still think Young will stay in Atlanta when all is said and done this summer. It appears Atlanta is headed toward breaking up its backcourt consisting of Young and Dejounte Murray, but that could mean Murray is the one who gets traded. That’s not to say a Young trade is impossible, but I’m still leaning toward them keeping him and trying to improve the roster around him.

If they made him available, would the Minnesota Timberwolves be an interested team?

The Minnesota Timberwolves just qualified for the Western Conference Finals, but now they have to make some roster decisions. The Timberwolves will move past the second apron next season if the team stays as it is and its trade assets have declined due to the trade for Rudy Gobert, who just won another Defensive Player of the Year award . This has led to speculation that the Timberwolves may try to trade star forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns in order to avoid the second apron and potentially recoup some draft picks. If Minnesota wanted to trade for Young, Towns would definitely have to be included in the deal.

Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report cited the Timberwolves as a potential surprise destination for Trae Young:

“If the Minnesota Timberwolves want to improve their lackluster offense, stay under the luxury second fiscal apron and find a long-term solution at point guard alongside Anthony Edwards, a deal based on Trae Young and Karl-Anthony Towns has a lot of meaning.

The Wolves ranked just 17th in total offense (114.6 rating) and 22nd in assist ratio (1.88) last season, raising questions about the quality of that scoring attack.

Inserting Young as the team’s starting point guard and letting Mike Conley Jr. come off the bench helps both units, as the former was named an All-Star in 2024 while averaging 25.7 points, 10.8 assists , 1.3 steals and 37.3% shooting from three.

No team is better suited to fill Young’s defensive gaps. Minnesota led the NBA in total defense (108.4 rating) and has four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Anthony Edwards and Nickeil Alexander-Walker all under contract for next season.

A straight Young-Towns trade would save the Timberwolves $6.3 million in salary for next season for a team currently projected to hit $6.7 million on the second apron. The Wolves could also send their No. 27 pick ($2.6 million projected starting salary) and/or Wendell Moore Jr. ($2.5 million) to go completely under the line. »

If the Hawks were to trade Young, Towns would be one of the most talented players they could get back and I think he would be a good fit with Dejounte Murray, Jalen Johnson and whoever the Hawks took with the No. 1 pick . .

Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey recently ranked the Hawks as the “top pick” for Towns:

Best Place: Atlanta Hawks

“The Minnesota Timberwolves just advanced to the conference finals with a 22-year-old leading scorer. In the past, this would have seemed like a surefire ‘go back’ situation.

But while Minnesota is on track to overcome the dreaded new second apron, it must at least consider cost-cutting measures. The most obvious would be a Karl-Anthony Towns trade, which is why he’s expected to pop up in trade rumors over the next few weeks.

A Hawks team led by Towns and Trae Young would be lucky to be even average defensively. But Atlanta would likely move closer to the top of the league on offense.

The Hawks could play a five-out, three-point scheme with Towns starting at 5, and they wouldn’t necessarily sacrifice the lob threat that makes up such a big part of Young’s game. Jalen Johnson is a high-flying player, and he could become the most common receiver for alley-oops, much like Aaron Gordon with the Denver Nuggets. »

I also wouldn’t rule out the Hawks trying to ship Murray and other assets for Towns. I think if the Hawks added Towns to the roster and didn’t have to give up Young, they would form one of the best offensive combos in the NBA. Towns would be the best big man Young has ever played with and would give the Hawks plenty of spacing. The concerns would be on the defensive side. Young and Towns are not good defenders and the concern would be how far could you advance in the playoffs with a weak defense?

Keep in mind that Towns is not available yet and this is just speculation. These two could be trade partners, which could be a wild offseason around the NBA.