The NBA rumor mill started flying on Tuesday after Shams Charania reported that the Indiana Pacers plan to go into sell mode, and Caris LeVert, Domantas Sabonis, and Myles Turner are available. Enter the Minnesota Timberwolves and feed us all the Turner-to-Wolves photoshops. While it would be an excellent addition for Minnesota, it will be tricky to find a trade that Indiana would accept.
Minnesota sits at 11-13, which isn’t great by any standard. But if the playoffs started today, they’d be in the Play-In Tournament. While the Wolves aren’t one of the juggernauts in the Western Conference, they are a team that’s trying to win right now with the core they have. The usual suspects will pop up in these trade discussions like the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Brooklyn Nets. The Timberwolves are below that tier, but they should be every bit as aggressive. However, some bumps in the path could make it harder to acquire Turner.
Anthony Edwards is 100 percent untouchable in any trade talks. Karl-Anthony Towns falls into that category as well. But they should be open-minded with D’Angelo Russell.
Russell shouldn’t be out of the discussions for Minnesota, but there are two big reasons it wouldn’t work.
For one, Minnesota is just starting to see what this trio of Edwards, Towns, and Russell can be when they are all healthy. DLo has been banged up a bit recently, but it’s started to click when they have been on the court together. The Wolves didn’t get to see much of it last year, with Towns or Russell usually out at one time or another. Trading Russell now, even for Turner, would be giving up on what the initial plan was. We’re still not sure if the plan will fully flourish, and it deserves that chance with a larger sample size.
Secondly, Indiana isn’t likely to be in the market to take on a player like Russell. DLo is a microwave shooter, and it’s electric when he’s going. Indiana isn’t retooling, though. It’s a full-on rebuild. By shopping LeVert, Sabonis, and Turner, the Pacers aren’t trying to shuffle a couple of things around. They are willing to start from scratch. That means young, inexpensive prospects and draft picks will likely be significant for returning assets heading to Indiana. Russell doesn’t fit that description as a six-year vet on a max contract. That’s where it gets even more tricky for Minnesota.
Giving up Edwards or Towns is out of the question, and it doesn’t make sense to give up Russell at this point — even for Turner. Indiana likely wouldn’t take that offer anyways, even with a sweetener of a draft pick and another player thrown in. So, where does that leave Minnesota?
Contract matching will be a key, and Turner is making $17.5 million this year and next. That’s pretty cheap for someone known for being one of the best shot blockers and paint defenders in the league. One possible option for Minnesota would include Malik Beasley, but not for the reasons you may think.
Beasley is making about $14 million this year, $15 million next season, and $16 million in the 2023-24 season. The Wolves rely on him to come off the bench and get buckets. While he’s streaky, he’s certainly an asset. With his contract being in the general ballpark of Turner’s, that could be a match for Indiana. However, the Wolves would have to dive in way more.
Beasley isn’t an up-and-coming prospect or a player who could use a change of scenery. The Wolves would essentially be putting him in as a filler for financial purposes. If they threw in an unprotected first-round pick in 2022 and 2023 first-round pick, that might be enough to sway the Pacers.
The unprotected part is the key with the picks. There’s no guarantee that the Wolves will dance into the postseason this year with or without Turner. That could mean Indiana gets a lottery pick either this year, next year, or in both seasons. The draft picks, along with the chance to either keep Beasley or flip him for something else, may be among the most enticing offers the Pacers get for Turner.
For Minnesota, keeping their trio in place and landing Turner would be hard to pass up. Giving up any of the three of Edwards, Towns, or Russell would not only be foolish and unrealistic, but it would also be giving up too much. Finding the happy medium is critical; giving up the future first-round picks is where they have to decide if the juice is worth the squeeze. In this case, it almost certainly would be.
