Minnesota Timberwolves: Pass/pursue NBA trade deadline rumors

Should Minnesota trade for John Collins?

According to Jackie MacMullan on The Bill Simmons Podcast, the Minnesota Timberwolves are “dying” to add John Collins to their ranks. And it makes sense. A young, athletic stretch-four, Collins fits perfectly with what Rosas is looking for in a forward for the Timberwolves.

Still, there are some questions. The biggest one is what the Atlanta Hawks would want in return. According to NBC Sports, the Hawks are under pressure to win now:

"The problem would be putting a trade together. Atlanta doesn’t want to take a step back, it has a mandate from ownership to make the playoffs….To get a deal done, Atlanta would want good young players…and likely multiple picks, and with Collins only making $4.1 million this season, it would turn into a multi-player, maybe multi-team deal."

So, if Minnesota wants Collins, they’ll likely have to give up an asset or two.

Best Possible Package:

It’s a massive deal, with a lot of moving parts that maybe wouldn’t move in reality, but if it works, it could be just what Minnesota is looking for.

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This trade does help Atlanta, giving them the young potential plus the extra draft pick they’re looking for, though it’s less clear how it helps the Boston Celtics. While it seems like Boston is giving up quite a bit to get Tony Snell and Naz Reid, the player that the Celtics use the most in this bunch is Jeff Teague, and even he doesn’t get more than 20 minutes per game on average. Though Romeo Langford hasn’t seen the court this season due to wrist surgery he had last season and then being placed in the league’s health and safety protocol, when he played last season he only averaged around 11 minutes per game and had one of the lowest usage percentages on the team. What they get in return, mostly in the form of Snell, could be seen as cashing in on some young talent to get current production, but even then they get some young potential in Naz Reid and a (likely high) 2022 first round draft pick. While Snell has been playing well for the Hawks, he’s had somewhat limited usage and isn’t seen as a big factor in an Atlanta playoff push.

The only big question left is if Collins wants to go to Minnesota. He’s shown some troubling tendencies in the recent past if he’s left out of the offensive strategy, or if the team begins to struggle. How Collins will act on a team that struggles to get wins, in an offensive system where he would likely be the third option at best, is still yet to be seen, but given Collins’ skillset and his fit with Karl-Anthony Towns, he could be an important piece for Minnesota going forward.

Decision: Pursue