The Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t do anything at the trade deadline, though there were some rumors swirling. They inquired about Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant, as reported by The Athletic’s Jon Krawcynzki, but that never went anywhere.
According to the Timberwolves’ owner Tim Connelly a deal was never that close.
“I don’t think we were that close, the trade deadline is 99.5% posturing and lies,” Connelly said. “0.4%, you get a situation where it’s something actionable. We were never on the 1-yard line with anything.”
When asked if a trade with Phoenix was close, Connelly replied, “No. We talked to every team. There was no press conference-ensuing. We weren’t that far down the line with any trades.”
Even if the Timberwolves had been active at the deadline, being above the NBA’s second tax apron restricted them from aggregating contracts in a trade, making it very difficult to get one done.
Minnesota’s season didn’t start great, which wasn’t a pleasant sight at first. The team had come off their second run to the Western Conference Finals in franchise history and had just traded Karl-Anthony Towns. Because of their early-season struggles, there was plenty of speculation early on that the Timberwolves would make a move or two at the deadline.
However, since then, all indications are that the Timberwolves chose right by standing pat. Having won eight games in a row, Minnesota is the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and isn’t too far behind the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers in the standings.
Some moves could be coming in the offseason, but the Timberwolves have turned their season around so well following an uneven start that there was no reason for them to abandon their current roster makeup.
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