NBA Trade Rumors: Offering Williams for Gasol Short-Sighted Move by Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves are reportedly very interested in acquiring Los Angeles Lakers power forward Pau Gasol in a move that they hope will return the team to respectability.

However, the price the team is apparently willing to pay may do little more than insure that the Timberwolves will be a one-and-done team in the Western Conference playoffs for a few years.

According to a report by CBS Sports, the Timberwolves attempted to swing a deal before the NBA draft with the Charlotte Bobcats that would have sent 2011 second overall pick Derrick Williams to Charlotte in exchange for this year's second pick, which ostensibly would have then been used in an attempt to land Gasol.

That deal didn't come to pass, but that hasn't stopped the Timberwolves from continuing their pursuit of Gasol, who they hope to team with fellow Spaniard Ricky Rubio and big man Kevin Love as the nucleus of a team that Minnesota brass feels would then be a Western Conference contender.

There's no denying that there's room for improvement in the Twin Cities after a last-place finish in the Northwest division a season ago, nor is there any arguing the fact that the speedy Rubio and powerful Love form the foundation that the Timberwolves hope to build around in the future.

However, Williams was supposed to be a big part of that future as well. It seems a little ludicrous to give up on the former Arizona standout after only one season in exchange for a player in Gasol that, while an excellent pro in his own right, is also 31 years old.

Sure, Williams experienced his share of growing pains as a rookie, averaging only 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in just over 21 minutes a game while looking lost and frustrated at times.

However, that was also in a season where a lockout eliminated nearly all of training camp. That training camp would have benefited Williams all the more given the fact that, in a perfect world, the Timberwolves would like to see Williams shed some bulk and slide to small forward.

But hey, learning an entirely new position on the fly during games in the NBA can't be that hard, right?

Simply put, it makes no sense to just throw up your hands and give up on a player that you thought was worthy of the second overall pick in the NBA draft when your team is nowhere close to being a legitimate NBA contender. That assessment was shared by Minneapolis Star-Tribune sports writer Chip Scoggins in a piece on Saturday.

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The Wolves are motivated to be a winner, to experience the playoffs again, to be relevant for more than a few months. That's encouraging. But unloading Williams in exchange for a veteran doesn't guarantee a quicker or smoother path in that pursuit. It also would eliminate any potential payoff if Williams develops into a superstar.

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With that said, it would appear that that's exactly what the Timberwolves are looking to do. If they can pull this deal off, it's far more likely that three years from now we'll be talking about the ascension of Derrick Williams as a player than we will be the ascension of the Minnesota Timberwolves as a team.

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