Recently, Timberwolves team reporter Jon Krawczynski was a guest on the "SiriusXM NBA Radio" program and talked about the team's interest in Morant. The Timberwolves have talked to the Grizzlies about Morant or are seriously considering trading for him.
Morant’s recent tense relationship with the team’s coach has triggered large-scale trade rumors. Considering the Timberwolves' current lineup characteristics and salary structure, should they pursue Morant?
Conley, the original starting point guard, has aged out and has been replaced as a substitute, while Hua Zi is a guest point guard in the starting lineup. This is the original motivation for the Wolves to seriously consider trading for Morant.
The Timberwolves have achieved 56 and 49 wins respectively in the past two seasons, and have reached the Western Conference finals for two consecutive years. The ace Edwards is now 24 years old and 98 days old and is in his prime. The strength of the team at the conference finals level is on the rise. The young ace still has room for improvement. This is the fundamental reason why the Timberwolves are willing to actively strengthen and move forward.
Conley, the starting point guard who helped the team reach the Western Conference Finals for two consecutive years, is now 38 years old. His average playing time in the regular season and playoffs last season was less than 25 minutes. The aging of the starting point guard is a real problem that the Timberwolves have to face if they want to break out of the Western Conference.
The Timberwolves used the 2030 first-round swap rights + the 2031 unprotected first-round pick to get the No. 8 pick from the Spurs in the 2024 draft, and selected Dillingham as Conley's successor. The Timberwolves spent an additional 20 million in luxury tax on his first-year rookie salary of 6.26 million.
The Timberwolves spent a lot of money on Dillingham. Although Dillingham was given high hopes, his growth rate is far from expected: he played 57 games last season, averaging only 4.5 points and 2.0 assists per game; so far this season, he has averaged 6.0 points and 2.5 assists per game.
Dillingham is 185 centimeters and 79 kilograms, with a small body. His high-end defense is targeted and he cannot stand on the court. His rotation priority is not as good as Clark and Shannon. He is actually the 10th player rotated by the team this season.
The predicament of the Timberwolves is clear at a glance. Conley served as a substitute when Hua Zi was healthy this season and only averaged 20.6 minutes per game. Dillingham failed to meet expectations, and Clark, Shannon, and Hyland were unable to play high-end games.
The Timberwolves once used DiVincenzo + Hua Zi to start the backcourt. DiVincenzo averaged 3.8 assists per game and was a shooting guard rather than a pure point guard. The Wolves were forced to use Hua Zi as the point guard in the starting lineup and Randall as the secondary ball handler. However, the finishing attributes of these two brothers were greater than organization. The Wolves lineup lacked a starting-level point guard.
If Morant is traded, the Wolves will have a starting-level No. 1 position, solving the biggest shortcoming of the current lineup, which is obviously feasible in theory.
Although the Timberwolves have a hard need to upgrade their starting point guard, the salary explosion is also the most important issue that must be considered.
The Timberwolves' current total salary is 202.6 million, which has exceeded the luxury tax threshold of 187.9 million.
The Timberwolves' salary is exploding. Huazi's big contract has four years left for 202.4 million, Gobert has 3 years for 109.6 million, Randle has 100 million for 3 years, McDaniels has 108 million for 4 years, Reid has 125 million for 5 years, DiVincenzo has 24.53 million for 2 years, and Conley has 10.77 million for 1 year. Currently, there are 7 contracts worth more than 10 million.
Morant has three years left on his contract worth 126.5 million, and his salary this season is 39.45 million.
The most ideal solution is for the Timberwolves to retain the core five of Huazi + Gobert + Randle + McDaniels + Reid to match Morant, but these six large contracts may be an astronomical figure for the Timberwolves management.
What the Grizzlies want is a star who can sell tickets + multi-year draft picks. The Timberwolves' first round picks in 2030 and 2031 have been traded. The trading chips of Conley + DiVincenzo + Dillingham + Belanger are not attractive. Otherwise, Gobert, Randle, Reid or McDaniels will have to be moved. The chips they can offer to the Grizzlies are almost unattractive.
It is very difficult for the Timberwolves to satisfy the Grizzlies' appetite, and the future salary situation is not optimistic. The future of building a double-gun backcourt of Huazi + Morant will be huge.
There is the Nuggets Melo + Iverson in the backcourt, and the Hawks Young + Murray in the backcourt. Ball rights issues and system suitability are also important factors to consider in whether the Timberwolves want to form a backcourt duo of Huazi + Morant.
Morant is not good at three-pointers. Long-range shots are basically taken away by various teams. He has averaged 14.8% three-pointers per game so far this season (0.8/5.4), and his career average three-pointers per game is 31.0%. Morant is 188 cm tall, weighs 79 kg, and has limited defensive capabilities. Three-pointers and defense are important factors that limit the upper limit of Morant's team leadership, and he needs to have the ball in his hands. He is a typical breakthrough point commander.
Morant’s advantage is that he has averaged at least 23 points and 6.7 assists per game in the past four seasons. He can break through and connect in difficult situations, and enjoys the reputation of the "peerless midfielder". Moreover, Huazi has off-ball ability, and the Timberwolves have an excellent defensive configuration (Gobert, McDaniels, Huazi) who can help Morant wipe his ass. In theory, Morant at the 1st position is a real upgrade to Conley + Dillingham.
Now is undoubtedly the best time to buy Morant at the bottom. The key lies in how much chips the Timberwolves have to pay.
If the two most important defensive cards of Gobert + McDaniels are not used, Huazi + Morant's double gun paired with Gobert + McDaniels and other puzzle players will undoubtedly have the highest ceiling. The Wolves can even send out organization power forward Randall. Reid, who is good at playing without the ball, will be a perfect fit at the starting No. 4 position. That is, one of Randall/Reid will stay, and Conley and DiVincenzo can also move.
The upper limit of the Nuggets Melo + Iverson (stopped in the first round for two consecutive years) is not as good as Melo + Billups (the first time they cooperated and went straight to the Western Conference Finals). The reason is that we all understand that the defense and organization of a pure point guard are more suitable for a scoring core..
The Timberwolves can pursue Morant. It is understandable that a strong team at the Western Conference Finals level for two consecutive years will be motivated to strengthen the No. 1 position and continue to advance upwards. However, the basic defense cannot collapse after the transaction. This is the premise, otherwise the gain will not be worth the loss.
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