By Brennus Braaten
The Wolves are in a very tricky situation when it comes to who they should make a trade for and who they should trade away. They have some good assets that should net them some good value on the trade market.
They have Julius Randle who was acquired in the deal that sent Karl-Anthony Town to the Knicks. Randle struggled last year trying to get acclimated to the new system, however this season he has been great, averaging 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists. They have Rob Dillingham who is in his sophomore year and has been disappointing so far, averaging only 10 minutes and three points per game this season. He may be a little disappointing right now but a team could still want him for his potential as a young up-and-coming point guard.
The Wolves’ struggles all stem from their lack of a real point guard. Right now they have Donte Divenchenzo and Anthony Edwards splitting starting point guard minutes with Edwards taking most of the ball carrying responsibilities. Edwards has come a long way from where he was in his early years but he still struggles with his playmaking and dealing with double teams. The Wolves need to look for a capable ball handler who can set up Ant and other players so they don’t have to create their own offense all the time. The Wolves also have Naz Reid off the bench, who can play power forward or center minutes.
All these factors are resulting in people saying that the Wolves need to sell high on Randle and package him and Rob together and get a star point guard alongside Ant. Moving Randle would allow for Naz to come up into the starting lineup and the Wolves would then receive a point guard and have one of the better starting lineups in the NBA. The need for a point guard came at just the right time as there are multiple all star caliber point guards being offered out in the trade market right now. Some of these names consist of Trae Young, Lamelo Ball, Ja Morant, and Cobe White.
To start with, the trade theory that is at the highest. The Wolves trading for Trae Young is very much on the table of possibilities. The base of any Trae Young trade would be moving Randle, Rob, and Mike Conley in exchange for Trae Young. Young is one of the best play makers in the NBA, having just led the league in assists per game. However, a reason that lots of people are not liking this trade option is because of Trae’s defense. Trae Young is one of, if not the worst defender in the NBA. He is extremely small being only 6 foot and 165 pounds. This would take away from the Wolves’ identity as a defensive team. Now, if any team can be ok with giving up defense like that, it would be the Wolves. If anyone is to drive past Trae, like they inevitably will, they will have four-time Defensive Player Of The Year winner Rudy Gobert waiting at the rim.
Another big time point guard name on the market is Ja Morant. He has been having some trouble with his team and his own production so his value is at an all time low. The base of a trade for him would consist of one of either Rudy Gobert or Randle, plus Mike and Rob. Ja Morant is a name that has been in headlines before but not for very good reasons. He got suspended for 25 games two seasons ago, came back and played fantastic then got injured for the rest of the season after only nine games. Then he came back last season and was injury prone for the entire season, only playing 50 out of 82 games. So a trade for Ja is plausible but not likely anymore.
These are two of the more popular mock trades for the Wolves to do heading up to the trade deadline. Both of these all star caliber point guards are on the trade market for a reason, so the Wolves will have to take the good with the bad. Whether they actually go for any of these, we’ll just have to wait and see how they decide to handle the situation.
Brennus Braaten is a Fillmore Central High School student, one of 10 area students participating in the Journal Writing Project, now in its 27th year.
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