So this is what the Tom Thibodeau era will be like for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
According to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, the Timberwolves, who have also been linked to the Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler, are interested in dealing for Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets:
Among the teams the Nuggets have talked with that have warmed to a trade for Faried, a source said, is Minnesota. New coach Tom Thibodeau has long been a fan of his. Thibodeau was part of the Team USA staff when Faried competed in the World Cup in 2014, and has had an affinity toward him since, and the ex-Bulls coach would like to acquire a big man who can provide interior toughness to pair with Rookie of the Year center Karl-Anthony Towns.
Any deal between the Timberwolves and Nuggets would be complicated.
If you’re the Timberwolves, you’re not giving up any of your top prospects for Faried. And even if you wanted to, you don’t have the contractual fodder to match Faried’s salary. Denver isn’t taking Nikola Pekovic’s deal, and Minnesota isn’t trading Kevin Garnett.
The Timberwolves can absorb Faried into cap space after the NBA’s July moratorium, but then you’re essentially chaining yourself to a forward who neither shoots nor defends rather than trying to capitalize on your max-contract flexibility. And there’s also still the issue of asset cost. Is Denver looking to sell low, or will it demand someone of value from Minnesota?
If anything happens on this front, it’ll most likely be later in the offseason, after all the free-agency dust has settled. But, if I were a betting man, which I am from time to time, I’d bank on nothing happening here at all.
