Kevin Durant
Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
Kevin Durant has had to sit and watch, but the Minnesota Timberwolves are fresh off a strong season that continued with their second consecutive trip to the Western Conference Finals. Yet, like last year, the Timberwolves were eliminated in just five games.
Now the Timberwolves have to find a way to not only maintain the momentum they’ve worked so hard to achieve but also improve upon being one of the NBA’s best teams. That’s not an easy task, but it’s one Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly is prepared for.
One potential solution could be to trade for Kevin Durant, who’s widely expected to be traded by the Phoenix Suns this offseason. Durant has been linked to the Timberwolves in the past, and that action increased once it became widely known that he is/was Anthony Edwards’ favorite player.
In fact, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Timberwolves pushed hard to try trading for Durant ahead of last season’s NBA trade deadline. While a deal was nearly impossible to pull off at that time due to cap reasons, Windhorst outlined exactly how the Timberwolves can become a viable landing spot for the future Hall of Famer.
“It became clear to me in talking to the parties involved just how serious the Wolves were about trying to trade for Kevin Durant at the trade deadline. The point is, this wasn’t just like ‘well, we’re not doing anything on trade deadline day.’They made some sort of progress. Getting it done was impossible because they are two second-apron teams. But after both of [Randle and Naz Reid] opt out, the Wolves will not be a second-apron team.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on Kevin Durant
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While the Timberwolves would likely prefer to retain both Julius Randle and Naz Reid, it’s possible they both opt out and later agree to a contract in Minnesota on different terms. In fact, hearing about someone as talented as Durant being in play for the Timberwolves may be just enough to help convince either player to take a reduced salary in an effort to achieve the one goal they’ve yet to knock off their checklist, winning an NBA championship.
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