Ranking Timberwolves' Top Trade Targets After 2026 NBA Playoff Loss
The Minnesota Timberwolves enter yet another NBA offseason feeling as if they are close enough to contend for the crown but still not quite able to capture it.
Are they content taking more cracks at this with the same core? Or do they need to entertain some outside-the-box ways of restructuring this roster?
They were, after all, poking around about Giannis Antetokounmpo at the trade deadline and eyeballing Kevin Durant last summer, so they've clearly considered a considerable shakeup.
Let's examine two potential big-ticket trade pursuits for this offseason, then, and one non-brand name alternative if they don't want to (or can't) do anything that dramatic.
3. Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks
1 of 3
The Timberwolves have seen some incredible things from Anthony Edwards. They still might wonder whether their 24-year-old centerpiece could be capable of more if he had a more consistent co-star at his side.
Irving isn't an automatic answer, since he's 34 years old and hasn't seen action in over a year due to an ACL tear. Then again, maybe that combo of age and health uncertainty drops his trade price lower than his accolades say it should ever get.
In terms of something-out-of-nothing creation, Irving is almost a one-of-one in NBA history. His handles are elite, his shooting touch is soft as silk and he's somehow just as threatening (and productive) on or off the ball.
He's a pretty dreamy sidekick, in other words, and if Dallas isn't determined to see how he looks alongside Cooper Flagg, maybe there's a move for Minnesota to make.
2. Cason Wallace, Oklahoma City Thunder
2 of 3
If the Wolves don't go the star route, what might they want to find?
Maybe a tone-setting floor general? One who establishes a relentless style on both ends of the court? A player with enough passing acumen to pilot an offense but also enough feel and awareness to maintain value away from the basketball?
If that's the aim, then Wallace should be the target. He is a brilliant defender and a career 37.4 percent three-point shooter who typically comes close to tripling his turnovers with assists. He's an asset for Oklahoma City but also the kind of player who just might do a whole lot more if allowed to spread his wings elsewhere.
Granted, the Thunder probably aren't eager to give him that opportunity, but at a certain point, they'll have to start making some financially driven subtractions. If Wallace would get deemed a necessary sacrifice, the Wolves should be all over him.
1. Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets
3 of 3
Think the Gopher State grass might look a little greener to Durant after his disastrous run with the Rockets? Houston has some young talent, sure, but it doesn't have Anthony Edwards.
Edwards, meanwhile, doesn't have a second scorer of Durant's ilk alongside him. And he probably couldn't handpick a bigger preference for someone to fill that spot, since Durant is his personal favorite.
Edwards needs another reliable, self-sufficient scorer, and Durant is one of the greatest this game has ever seen. He's all but guaranteed to net 25-plus points a night while being a sizzling streak at the foul line away from a 50/40/90 slash. Oh, and he's still a disruptive help defender and a smart secondary playmaker.
He isn't perfect—he'll turn 38 in September, doesn't have the cleanest injury history and doesn't seem to elevate players around him—but perfect really isn't in Minnesota's price range. An imperfect Durant could be, though, and maybe the Wolves want to push even harder this time after another playoff journey fell short.
