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After the buzz surrounding the stunning Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade subsided to a degree, the biggest storyline in the final hours leading up to the NBA trade deadline in early February was the barrage of rumors surrounding Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant.
Durant was linked to a possible reunion with the Golden State Warriors, and those talks continued to heat up until Durant put out the fire by saying that he had no desire to go back to the Bay Area. After that, there wasn't a lot of noise surrounding Durant, but there were other teams that were trying to get the 36-year-old on their team.
One of those teams was the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves have had a fairly disappointing season after reaching the Western Conference Finals last year, and they were trying their hardest to land Durant from the Suns just before the deadline according to NBA insider Jake Fischer.
“Once those talks [with the Warriors] ultimately fizzled, thanks largely to Durant’s disinterest in that reunion, Minnesota's own approach for Durant was serious enough, sources say, that the Timberwolves were calling rival teams over the final few days before the Feb. 6 deadline buzzer sounded,” Fischer reported. “The Wolves were working the phones in hopes of finding avenues to get under the NBA’s second luxury tax apron and then be able to aggregate contracts, all with the intent of landing Durant and his $51 million salary this season next to his Olympic running mate Anthony Edwards.”
Durant and Edwards would be a great fit together on paper, and the two would undoubtedly get along after playing together at the Summer Olympics in Paris. Durant is Edwards' favorite player in the league, which has led to some great soundbites and moments from the young Minnesota superstar during their matchup in the first round of the playoffs last season.
Purely from a basketball standpoint, Durant would give the Timberwolves a second shot creator, which is something that they desperately need in the playoffs. Julius Randle has had his moments this season, but he hasn't consistently been able to live up to that role. He would have likely been included in a deal for Durant, so this deal would have solved that problem.
Durant isn't the same all-world defender that he was during his Golden State days, but he can still be a plus on that end when he is locked in like he would be in a playoff series. Even if the Timberwolves would have had to give up a lot of key supporting pieces to get Durant in the building, it's easy to see how they could get better from that move. Maybe it's something that can be revisited this offseason.
