It’s been a whirlwind offseason for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The team has been transformed by the arrivals of Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague and Taj Gibson, as well as the departures of Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn.
Cole Aldrich easily could’ve been included on that list of departures, as his name has been prominently involved in trade rumors this offseason. Aldrich opened up to Jace Frederick of the Pioneer Press about dealing with that speculation:
“It is what it is. If it happened, it happened. If it didn’t, it didn’t. I’m going to be excited either way. I’m excited about my time. If I stay all year, I’m happy to be here. This is home for me and it always will be home, whether I’m with the Wolves or another team. I’ve loved my time being here, but it’s a business, it is what it is. I’ve been traded before and, as we spoke earlier in the year, you just never know if it’s going to happen again.”
Aldrich, who was signed only last summer, didn’t really make much of an impact in his first year in Minnesota. He averaged 1.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in 8.6 minutes per game as he was never able to break into head coach Tom Thibodeau’s rotation. However, he is a valuable trade piece because his $7 million salary for next season is only partially-guaranteed for $2 million.
There’s still a chance the T-Wolves move the 28-year-old big man for more reinforcements as they look to contend in the very tough Western Conference. But even if he does leave Minnesota, Aldrich seems like he has the right mentality and mindset to handle it well enough.
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