Minnesota Timberwolves Enter Carmelo Anthony Trade Talks

As it has been reported so many times in the news in the past few weeks, Carmelo Anthony wants out of Denver, and into a better squad. What is most shocking about this is the Yahoo! Sports report that listed New Jersey, Sacramento, and Minnesota as his top potential destinations.

I was shocked that Minnesota was in this discussion.

The thing is, Melo in Minny does sort of make sense from a lot of standpoints. He fits in well with the system, the team, potential teammates, and cold places. The only problem is the same reason the Nuggets are thinking of trading Carmelo in the first place.

After 2011, Carmelo becomes a free agent.

We all know that if Carmelo comes to the Timberwolves, it's a guarantee that he's leaving after one year. That's even enough common sense for David Kahn to understand. 

The question then becomes, why even include Minnesota in the list of possible suitors?

Well, it's easy to see where the Timberwolves could be appealing. They're the team filled with unproven potential in every single way. Name a player on the Wolves, and you'll find a young guy with a lot to prove, and not much of an opportunity to do it yet. Kevin Love, Jonny Flynn, Wesley Johnson, Michael Beasley, Corey Brewer, Martell Webster, and Darko Milicic all fit into this category.

Then there are some European Wolves. There's the current Timberwolf Nikola Pekovic, who was once tagged as a taller Al Jefferson (Jefferson's very problem on the team). He has a mountain of potential, as most European prospects do. Unlike most Europeans though, Pekovic has the physical strength to come right into the NBA. He has a ton of potential upside, and at a small contract, is one of the biggest low risk high reward players.

Then there's Rubio.

Rubio and Melo could make up a fantastic duo. Rubio is the potential of the century, who came into the spotlight at a younger age than LeBron did. Ricky would come to Minnesota to play for Carmelo Anthony's Wolves in a heartbeat.

Here's the major problem: This is all unproven.

The Wolves are completely unproven right now. The potential has not been reached for any of our players, none of them have reached All-Star status, and one of our major contributors of the future isn't even here yet!

So how could a deal possibly work?

In my mind, the only way that this would happen is if the deal took place at least a few weeks into the season. If the Wolves come out with more firepower than last season, and start winning games on their own, it'd give a little bit of incentive for Carmelo to stay, if Minnesota acquired him.

After all, the Wolves have the potential to acquire some top free agents in the summer, along with Rubio and a good draft pick. Then if you add Carmelo to the mix it's incredibly good. Then if the "rest" of the Wolves can win around 25-30 games without all of those players, they'd have a dynamite squad with them.

In conclusion, here's what needs to happen:

1. The Wolves need to have a killer opening to the season, and at least three or four of their high potential players need to shine early in the season.

2. They make the trade for Carmelo.

3. Without Rubio, draft picks, or free agents, the Wolves can fight their way into a playoff-ish spot.

4. Carmelo waits to make a full decision on the Wolves, and while he does, the Wolves make some stellar moves that convince him to stay (stellar doesn't have to be Miami-style stellar. Acquiring Rubio, a high first round pick, and a medium/high profile free agent will do just fine).
Is it that much of a long shot? Let's just put it this way: I wouldn't bet on this deal going through. But, if the Wolves can get through step one, it wouldn't be crazy for them to do the other steps necessary to have Carmelo.