NBA Trade Rumors: Minnesota Timberwolves hoping to acquire Ben Simmons without losing D'Angelo Russell
The Minnesota Timberwolves are looking to challenge as playoff contenders for next season, with NBA trade rumors suggesting Ben Simmons is among the players on their radar.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have a youthful team comprising core players like D'Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns. They had a disappointing 2020-21 NBA season, though, finishing 13th in the Western Conference with a 23-49 record.
They had to deal with injuries, Covid protocols, and a lot of other adversities throughout their campaign, which led to them falling out of postseason contention way earlier than expected. According to Jon Krawczynski and Danny Leroux of The Athletic, the Minnesota Timberwolves will look to trade for Ben Simmons this summer in the hopes of securing a playoff berth.
Here's what they reported in a recent article:
"The Timberwolves pride themselves on getting involved in trade talks, and sources indicate that they will be in on Simmons in addition to a number of other players as they try to vault into playoff contention in the Western Conference."
Ben Simmons could be a great addition to the T'Wolves. He can improve them defensively and won't have to worry about playing the role of a primary scorer. That's because the Minnesota Timberwolves bolster the likes of Towns, Edwards, and Russell, who are their primary scoring options on the offensive end.
NBA Trade Rumors: Minnesota Timberwolves looking to keep D'Angelo Russell amid Ben Simmons interest
It will be an uphill task for the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire a player like Ben Simmons considering they have roughly $128 million committed as guaranteed salaries for next season. Questions will be raised on whether they would be willing to include one of their all-star players like D'Angelo Russell or Karl-Anthony Towns in any kind of trade deal surrounding Simmons.
However, considering the Minnesota Timberwolves' end-of-season (7-5) record with Russell, Towns and Edwards, it seems unlikely they will break the core.
As per The Athletic, sources have also stated:
"The Timberwolves view Russell as a part of the core and want to keep it that way."
Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns is their leading player, and Anthony Edwards is on his rookie contract, which means neither of them will be on the trade block either. The Minnesota Timberwolves have Ricky Rubio and Malik Beasley, though, who are owed a combined $30.5 million next season.
Including both of them in a trade deal could be enough to match salaries for Ben Simmons, but it remains to be seen if the Philadelphia 76ers accept that kind of a deal to move their All-Star point guard.