Trade targets: Nerlens Noel and Rodney Hood
So the trade deadline is about a week away.
Per Darren Wolfson, the Wolves have nothing going for them right now.
This isn't much of a surprise. Thibs is big on continuity, and tends to only make changes when backed into a corner by injuries or other forces outside his control. Second, the Wolves don't really have much to trade with.
Jeff Teague's contract is exorbitant, and he's played poorly since the injury; no one's clamoring for an okay point guard making $19 million per year. Thibs is all in on Wiggins, but even so, he has likewise struggled this season, and he's signed a max contract that hasn't actually kicked in yet. No one's going to deal $8 million in assets now to be on the hook for $30 million next season.
Assuming Thibs isn't inclined to deal Tyus Jones, which I don't think he is, the Wolves have only three real trade assets. Well, two and a half. One and a half, actually.
Cole Aldrich is the best trade piece the Wolves have, as a (basically) expiring contract. His deal is only partially guaranteed for next year, so a team looking for salary cap over the summer - and there will be a LOT of them - can trade for him then buy him out at almost no cost.
The Wolves also have the first round pick they are owed from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Thibs has been adamant about not trading that, and I don't see that changing, and I agree with him there. Wiggins' contract is already signed, and Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns are both due max deals soon as well. Draft picks are essential for capped out teams to add talent and make changes without breaking the bank.
And finally, there's Gorgui Dieng. This is a complicated one. Dieng is a solid player, but his contract makes trying to trade him very difficult. He has too many years left on it for a rebuilding team to take him without the draft pick attached. But at $14 million per year, he also makes too much for a contending team to want him as a bench guy.
So there is a very narrow range of teams that could be talked into taking Dieng - teams that need a starting center to hold down the fort while they search for a young guy to develop, who have the salary cap to spend and a couple players they just kind of want to get rid of.
The big contracts should probably be kept until they're expiring. This will give the Wolves the ability to make major changes in a couple years, if necessary. But there's smaller deals that the Wolves could make now that would bring minor but quality changes to a roster with a couple very glaring flaws.
Gorgui Dieng (or Cole Aldrich) for Nerlens Noel:
Nerlens Noel has an attitude problem. Whether the attitude is the cause of his issues with Rick Carlisle, or are the result of them, I don't know. But he clearly needs to be straightened out.
Nerlens Noel can also be an unbelievable force on defense. He has incredible agility for his size and position, great awareness, timing, and IQ. He shuts down the pick and roll, defends in space, covers an incredible amount of ground, and protects the rim.
Offensively, Noel has almost nothing in terms of a jump shot, but he's a a weapon in pick and roll, will clean up on the offensive glass, and is a surprisingly adept ball handler and facilitator.
Wolfson has said on a couple of his podcasts that Noel is a guy Thibs has expressed interest in. Dieng could give the Mavericks a reliable starting center they badly need right now, even if they have to deal with the length of his contract. Dallas won't be a free agent hot spot for guys like LeBron or Paul George, so it wouldn't be the worst thing to have Dieng to fall back on for a few years as they look for ways to build around Dennis Smith Jr. And for the Wolves, again, it's going to be hard to more Dieng for a quality player without including the draft pick. But they might be able to move him for talent with baggage.
Cole Aldrich for Rodney Hood and Epke Udoh (or Jonas Jerebko):
The Jazz had put their roster up for sale. After losing Gordon Hayward to the Celtics and grabbing an absolute stud in the draft in Donovan Mitchell, Utah appears to have decided to tear it all the way down to Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, and rebuild from there. That puts a lot of talent up for grabs.
Rodney Hood has developed into a sensational shooter. He's become a great three point shooter who constantly moves off the ball and drills catch-and-shoot threes. He launches and incredible 7 threes a game an has connected on 38.6% of them, which is 7th best in the league among guys shooting 5 of more threes per game (it's hard to keep the percentage up on that volume of shots)
Hood also comes with the benefits of being part of one of the best defenses in the league, as well as having legitimate playmaking chops. For the last three seasons, the Jazz have often had Hood initiate the offense from the shooting guard spot to free up George Hill and Mitchell to score.
The Wolves are bottom 5 in the league in both three point attempts and three point %, and this has been catching up to them this month as the schedule has become much more difficult. The gap is particularly glaring against the Rockets and Warriors, who are the two teams standing between the Wolves and the Finals. Minnesota doesn't have to bomb away from the arc like they do, but they do have to close that gap to something reasonable. Grabbing Rodney Hood would be a great start.
The Wolves can facilitate the deal by also taking Epke Udoh's contract off Utah's books. His deal has 2 years left on it, so he can become a decent trade piece for the Wolves next summer.
Because of Wiggins' contract, the Wolves will not have any cap space to make major free agent signings for the foreseeable future. Any talent they want that's above the mid-level exception level will have to be traded for. Noel and Hood are better players than the Wolves will be able to sign in free agency. They can both add to the roster in areas the Wolves are lacking in for little cost, and then the team can choose whether to spend to keep them, as they won't be limited by the salary cap to sign their own players.
