After having a rough first month and a half of the season, the Minnesota Timberwolves seem to slowly be getting it together. Since the moment Wolves star Anthony Edwards called his teammates out for their “soft” play, they’ve lost just one game.
It’s probably a good thing the Wolves’ front office didn’t hit the panic button as quickly as the fanbase. Regret and trade rumors began to circulate just a month into the season. After being traded by Minnesota to the New York Knicks, Karl-Anthony Towns is having a career year in the Big Apple. For the players he was traded for, Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo have been inconsistent with the Wolves.
Since things didn’t start off the greatest in Minnesota, trade rumors began to surround Randle, DiVincenzo, and even some criticism for four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
Trading any of those three players would’ve indicated that the team was hitting the panic button. Now that things are going well, perhaps a lower-profile trade could help Minnesota take another step forward. Greg Swartz from Bleacher Report suggests the Timberwolves could target San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie for a trade.
“Champagnie is a wing who make less than $4.3 million and could help fill rotation minutes for Minnesota with their defense, shooting and versatility,” Swartz. wrote
Recently, Champagnie has seen a significant jump in his minutes for the Spurs. He has become a prominent bench player for one of the youngest teams in the league. He is averaging 12.8 points and 5.2 rebounds. At just 23-years-old, he has a tremendous amount of upside. He’s been a double-double machine lately and shows that he can do many different things while on the floor.
He is also capable of knocking down the three but would get more open looks from out there playing alongside Edwards, Randle, and company. As an undrafted player, he just made Spurs history just his second season in the NBA by hitting 2,000 three pointers and scoring 1,000 points.
Since he is still so young and raw, he wouldn’t take much for the Wolves to pursuit in a trade. This project trade for Minnesota would be a huge win for them if they could pull it off by the deadline.
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