Is noise around Wolves' pursuit of Kevin Durant exactly what Tim Connelly wants?
The Wolves' top basketball executive has pulled off two blockbuster trades that no one saw coming. So what does he have cooking this time around?
Tim Connelly has made two blockbuster trades since becoming the Timberwolves president of basketball operations in May 2022. The first came less than two months into Connelly’s tenure and sent multiple players and draft picks to the Utah Jazz for Rudy Gobert. The second occurred only two days before the Wolves opened training camp last summer as they acquired Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo from the New York Knicks for Karl-Anthony Towns.
Both were shockers that no one saw coming.
That’s why as reports continue to circulate the Wolves are pursuing Phoenix’s Kevin Durant, you have to wonder if that’s really Connelly’s sole focus. All of the speculation about Durant’s desires — he would prefer to be traded to Houston, Miami or San Antonio and he doesn’t want to play in Minnesota — could provide the perfect distraction as the stealth-operating Connelly plans his next move.
What could that be? That’s a great question and the beauty of how Connelly operates.
To be clear: I’m not saying the Wolves haven’t been in on Durant. They reportedly attempted to deal for him at the NBA trade deadline in February and pairing the future Hall of Fame forward with Anthony Edwards is intriguing for many at Target Center.
But the many reports of a potential Durant trade have included the fact the Wolves might have the best offer on the table but are considered a long shot because of his desire to go elsewhere. Durant doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, so the Suns could ignore his wishes and send him to Minnesota.
Durant’s hammer is that he will be entering the final season of his contract and would have the ability to become a free agent next summer. The downside for Durant is he will be 37 by that time. The upside is that unlike this offseason, many teams will have significant salary cap space to sign free agents next summer.
Connelly’s dilemma, if he still wants Durant, is how much would he be willing to send to the Suns in exchange for one season of a 17-year veteran who might not be happy to be here? That’s why it’s worth wondering if Connelly has turned his attention elsewhere and is working on his next trade.
Names that have surfaced in the Durant speculation include Gobert, DiVincenzo, 2024 first-round picks Rob Dillingham and/or Terrence Shannon Jr. The 17th pick in the first round of this year’s draft also would be a possibility to be moved. Gobert’s inclusion would not be surprising and there are many who probably wouldn’t mind seeing DiVincenzo dispatched after he struggled in the playoffs.
Dillingham, who is only 20, received little chance to play this season, but Connelly traded up to the eighth pick in last year’s draft to take the point guard from Kentucky. Shannon, who will turn 25 on July 30, impressed nearly every time he was given an opportunity and appears to have a bright future. Parting with either one would be difficult, unless the Wolves are convinced they made a mistake by taking Dillingham.
Durant remains one of the NBA’s best scorers — he averaged 26.6 points in 62 games last season to finish sixth in the league — and Edwards has made it known how much he would love to play with his childhood idol. The two hit it off as teammates on the U.S. Olympic team last summer.
Maybe Connelly and Wolves officials, along with Edwards, are trying to get Durant to change his mind. Maybe the Wolves will decide that Durant spending one season in Minnesota would be enough to get him to sign for a few more years, or maybe the Wolves would be willing to take one season of Durant and hope it would be enough to get them past the Western Conference finals after losing in that round each of the past two years.
Another possibility is that Connelly is thrilled with all of this Durant-to-Minnesota talk because it’s distracting us from what he’s really trying to accomplish. No one should be surprised if that ends up being the case.