The Minnesota Timberwolves are currently enjoying a dream season. They are 35-16, in a virtual four-way tie for first place in the Western Conference alongside the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Wolves have the third-best point differential in the West and fourth in the entire NBA. Their net rating ranks fifth in the league, while both Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns were named as All-Stars.
Not many teams are having a stronger season than the Timberwolves, and it's already gotten better with Wednesday's trade for Monte Morris. Why shouldn't Minnesota try to keep improving ahead of the trade deadline on Thursday afternoon?
The Wolves are very good, but not quite perfect. They have some holes on the roster that would ideally be addressed with upgrades. Minnesota has already enjoyed a dream start to the season, but a best-case scenario for the team at the deadline could make it even better. Here's what what that would look like.
Timberwolves trade for another perimeter shot-creator
Minnesota has been a great team this season, but they haven't exactly been a great offensive team. There are still times where their offense gets a little clunky trying to navigate with two bigs on the floor at the same time. While their net rating is fifth in the NBA, their offensive efficiency ranks just 19th in the association, behind teams like the Toronto Raptors and the Brooklyn Nets.
The Timberwolves'-offense gets even worse when Anthony Edwards is not on the floor. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, but the drop off is drastic. The Wolves post an offensive rating of 108.2 when Edwards is off the floor, ranking in the seventh percentile of Cleaning the Glass' lineup data. Only the Memphis Grizzlies have a worse offensive efficiency than the Wolves do when Edwards is on the bench.
Why? Minnesota just doesn't have many players who can feasibly create their own shot on their roster. Outside of Edwards, only Towns and Naz Reid have a usage rate above 20% this season, and two of those players are centers. Mike Conley can do it, but he's more of a facilitator than scorer, as is Morris. The Timberwolves badly need someone else who can create offense for himself.
Who could the Wolves trade for? Their options are limited with the luxury tax looming next season and cupboard of draft future assets nearly empty after sending a pair of future second-rounders to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Morris. Someone like Atlanta's Bogdan Bogdanovic would be perfect, but is almost surely too expensive.
Perhaps a more realistic candidate might be the Los Angeles Clippers' Bones Hyland. Timberwolves' president Tim Connelly drafted Hyland while he was the general manager of the Denver Nuggets. Hyland earns only $2.3 million, making a trade very feasible for the Wolves. A trade of Wendell Moore Jr. and a second-round pick for Hyland works. The Wolves could really use someone like Hyland, whose off-dribble shot-making chops could really improve their roster.
None of the top teams in the West make significant moves
The Timberwolves are in a logjam atop the Western Conference. But with them being down tradable first-round picks, their avenues to improving the roster are limited. Fortunately for them, the same applies to teams like the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers.
The only legitimate team in the Western Conference with chips to spare to improve their roster is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have roughly every first-round pick over the next five-to-ten years. While they won't be swinging for the fences at the deadline, they could make a move to improve their roster. But that's about the only team with real ammo to use at the deadline.
If the Thunder largely stand pat, which is a very Sam Presti move, that would be massive for the Wolves. They don't have much ammunition of their own, but if they can add a perimeter scorer somehow and see their primary competition not make big moves, that would be the ideal scenario for them and could portend to a deep run in the playoffs.
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