Bill Simmons had Ryen Russillo on his Monday podcast for their weekly NBA recap, and they guessed what players would get in free agency and came up with hypothetical trades. After batting around a few Damian Lillard trades, Simmons landed on one involving the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Here is Simmons’ proposal:
What if it’s just Towns for Dame, and there’s some pick swaps in there? And that’s the trade.
And Portland says to Dame, ‘You know what? This is actually your best chance to chase the title because you can be with Edwards and Gobert and all these role players they have, and you’re gonna be in a better spot. And then, if it doesn’t work out there, maybe they flip you.
And if you’re Portland, you get Towns, and you just put Towns with all these perimeter guys you have, and you go like, from a basketball standpoint, isn’t that just the most logical trade, or am I overthinking it?
And neither you or I are Towns fans.
Russillo was open to the idea.
No, we’re not fans, so the funny thing about the Lillard deal was it was like, ‘Man, it’s really expensive for a guy.’ And then time flies, and it’s like, ‘There’s only two years left on it.’
I’m always hesitant to do anything to mess with Anthony Edwards. I don’t know if that would take him off of the ball too much or it would make his life easier because Damian Lillard is somebody you have to extend out on. You have to freak out on every high ball screen, because you can’t give that guy an inch because he’ll stick it.
Simmons said the trade would give Minnesota an identity.
Well, think about going against them. You’re like, ‘Oh f—, we’re playing Dame and Anthony Edwards tonight. F–! We gotta figure this out.
That team now has an identity, and it’s really hard team to play against.
Russillo agreed that it would help the Wolves defensively.
And you think, wherever you’re at with Edwards’ defense, his attitude and the fact that he steps up. I’ve seen him close against some of the best players in the game, so I think that’s only gonna get better.
And then you have Jaden in the mix, who was an afterthought because of the stupid injury in the playoffs. But defensively, like that feels like a better 2-3 pairing around Dame than we’ve had recently because you have to find a way to have the other guard pick up the other stuff you’re gonna lose with Dame, which is Portland’s main problem.
Simmons added that Lillard would fit their personnel.
And they’d have the McDaniels piece of it to guard the other team’s best scorer. They’d have Gobert to protect the rim from both guys. They’d have Naz Reid as a backup still to replace some of the Towns minutes. They have SloMo.
I just think that’s a team that becomes very contender-y. I gotta say, I was laying out who was gonna be in the rotation, and I was like, ‘I kinda like this team.’
I don’t like the team they have now. I think the Towns-Gobert thing is unsustainable, even going past the first round.
Russillo admitted he doesn’t love Towns’ personality.
Yeah, I’ll be honest, too. Like, the Towns stuff, it’s not even necessarily even the play. I’ll just admit it, there’s certain personalities around the league, where I’m like, ‘Ehh, I don’t know about that guy.’ And he’s a first-round pick for me in that.
“Oh, he’s a lottery pick,” Simmons agreed.
Yeah, easily. I thought his interview with Pat Bev, I was like, ‘You know people can listen to this, right?’ Him saying he’ll change the game when people talk about him, like, whatever. People say dumb s– all the time.
But then when he was saying that it was actually more impressive what they did, winning that play-in game, and then he started explaining it. He was explaining it like, ‘Denver was together for all these years, and we had just gotten together.’ And you’re like, ‘Dude, do you actually think that s–?’
Simmons believes Towns should distance himself from his comments on the Pat Bev podcast.
That’s where the next day you go, ‘Hey man, I gotta apologize. I took some gummies before I did that Pat Beverley podcast. I just said some crazy s—, my bad. I don’t actually think the stuff I said.’
“Yeah, so I think I’d be for that,” said Russillo, referring to the trade.
The Timberwolves would greatly improve defensively if they traded Towns for Lillard. However, they would be moving Towns, 27, for Lillard, 32, a year after trading D’Angelo Russell for Mike Conley. While the DLo trade worked out, they would again be moving a player in his prime for one exiting his. Lillard isn’t as old as Conley, 35, but he’s going to be past his prime soon.
It’s an intriguing trade, one where the Timberwolves aren’t giving up cents on the dollar to move Towns. However, it’s risky given each player’s age. Towns has also expressed a desire to stay in Minnesota, which isn’t always a given with superstars. The Wolves would have to get instant results from the trade, further accelerating Edwards’ timetable. It’s not a no-brainer, but it’s definitely a trade worth considering if the Portland Trail Blazers offered it up.
