Minnesota Timberwolves' Next Big Move: 2014 Trade Deadline

The Minnesota Timberwolves have done a nice job assembling yet another core group of young, impressive talent for the 2013-14 NBA season. They still haven't worked it all out with Nikola Pekovic, but that's a story we've all heard at this point, and we are all eagerly waiting to hear how it ends.

But dollars and cents aside, it sounds like Minnesota will have him.

That means that the Timberwolves will suit up for the new season with Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio leading the team, with a solid starting five featuring Kevin Martin, Pekovic, and either Corey Brewer, Chase Budinger or Derrick Williams at the 3. Knowing Rick Adelman, it'll likely be Brewer.

Hoping for better luck with the injury bug this season, the Timberwolves look to make a push back into the postseason for the first time in a decade with this new roster. The T-Wolves will probably find themselves somewhere in the range of the sixth to ninth seed in the Western Conference.

But what then?

The Timberwolves have assembled themselves a team that is built for a lower conference seed.

Even with Love and Rubio in their primes three to five years from now, Pekovic and Martin will be well past 30 years old and will likely be on the decline. Derrick Williams is slowly developing and yet still finding himself out of favor with Rick Adelman. Alexey Shved, Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng are nice prospects, but all three of them have a lot to prove before they can become factors on a playoff roster.

The Timberwolves have set themselves up to be a huge factor at the trade deadline.

The T-Wolves have an All-Star and All-NBA player in Love. They also have a future All-Star and possibly All-NBA player in Rubio. Beyond that, none of the players have really been able to showcase any signs of superstar potential, and some can't even prove their worth in a starting lineup.

However, Williams and Muhammad are loaded with potential. With the right amount of training, coaching and diligence, they could become big factors in the league. The problem is that the 'Wolves don't have the time to give them.

T-Wolves fans are getting restless of being non-factors in the league. Love is due to be a free agent two summers from now and won't be happy with a team making no noise on the court. While Williams and Muhammad are great assets to have on the squad, they're not doing themselves any favors by sticking around on the bench of a fringe-playoff squad.

That's why Minnesota has to be a major player in the 2014 trade deadline.

LaMarcus Aldridge might want out of Portland, according to Jason Quick of The Oregonian. The combination of Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon and Jrue Holiday presents some major challenges for the New Orleans Pelicans. The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers might be having some huge fire sales come January. The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks might determine it's time to mix it up if things aren't working midseason as well.

And the Memphis Grizzlies might look lost without their leader Lionel Hollins, and 28-year old Marc Gasol and 32-year old Zach Randolph could be up for grabs.

The Wolves need to be at the phones ready to facilitate a deal.

If any of those teams are looking to start a major rebuild, the time is now to start taking young players loaded with potential and watch them develop over the years.

The Orlando Magic were thoroughly impressed with the progress of new acquisitions Nikola Vucevic, Maurice Harkless and Tobias Harris last season. And after watching the Dwightmare in Los Angeles, they probably weren't too disappointed to see their former star leave town.

The Magic received Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Vucevic, Harkless, Josh McRoberts, Christian Eyenga and five draft picks for Howard.

The Wolves have a lot more to give up than that for players who probably won't even be as high in demand.

If a star like Gasol or Aldridge is in play, the Timberwolves could easily throw Pekovic (assuming he re-signs) in a deal with Williams or Muhammad as a sweetener. Or they could easily make a package out of Williams, Muhammad and Shved for a budding small forward to pair next to Martin for the next several years. Possibly a Luol Deng, or a Danny Granger.

Minnesota would even make a wonderful third team in a three-team swap for a major star.

If one team has a star to give up, and wants young guns in return, the T-Wolves could easily move someone like Martin or Pekovic to a young team looking to upgrade and send prospects to a team looking to compensate the loss of a big star. See how Denver upgraded Afflalo to Andre Iguodala last season by adding in filler pieces like Al Harrington.

I'm optimistic about guys like Williams and Muhammad. However, watching from the bench while Love, Rubio and the rest of the T-Wolves compete for the playoffs isn't going to help their development.

Once a team feels iffy about one of its major players, it's time to let someone else take a crack at the projects and focus on the fact that the team may actually be good right now.

The Timberwolves can still be a low-seeded playoff team while their prospects eat up time on the bench. But why aim low?