Minnesota Timberwolves Dangling Cole Aldrich and a Second-Round Pick in Trade Talks
The Minnesota Timberwolves are expected to charge back into the playoff picture this season after they added Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague and Taj Gibson to a starting unit already featuring up-and-coming stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. However, their bench isn't really that deep.
Versatile big man Gorgui Dieng should continue to play significant minutes as Towns and Gibson's primary backup at the center and power forward positions, and offseason acquisition Jamal Crawford will give the Timberwolves a much-needed scoring punch off the bench. Forward Shabazz Muhammad is a streaky bench scorer who can provide points in bunches as well, although he still has to work on his defense.
But behind from those three, the quality of their bench isn't really that good. Aaron Brooks' best days are clearly behind him, and Nemanja Bjelica and Tyus Jones still haven't proven that they are ready to contribute on a consistent basis.
The Timberwolves do have a surplus of frontcourt players on the roster, though, and ESPN's Zach Lowe has reported that they are looking to trade Cole Aldrich and a second-round pick for a veteran player.
"The Wolves dangled Cole Aldrich and a second-round pick in search of veteran help, sources say, and they should experiment with Butler as a small-ball power forward. They will win a close game at some point," Lowe said.
"It's fun to joke that the bench doesn't matter, since Tom Thibodeau will play the starters into the ground. Luckily, the foursome of Teague, Butler, Wiggins and Towns has been remarkably durable. But what if one of them misses 20 games?" he added.
Aldrich has been in the league since 2010, but he has never developed into a productive player and he's definitely not a part of the team's future. It will be interesting to see if the Timberwolves can land a productive veteran for the eight-year center.
