We got Jaden McDaniels.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\nESPN reported Monday that the Bucks are looking for draft picks and\/or a blue-chip young player. McDaniels certainly qualifies. He\u2019s a 25-year-old who is under team control for three more seasons after this one at a reasonable $85 million total. He has made a significant leap in his sixth season in the league, becoming much more than the 3-and-D wing he was forecast to be out of college.<\/p>\n
McDaniels is averaging a career-high 14.4 points per game while shooting 44.5 percent from 3. He has also improved as a shot creator, showing the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket, where he elevates his 6-foot-10 frame to shoot over almost anyone who tries to defend him. He has done all this while maintaining his reputation as one of the league\u2019s most versatile perimeter defenders.<\/p>\n
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has spoken often this season about needing to get McDaniels even more shots. That has not been easy on a team with Edwards and Randle as the top two options. But it is easy to envision McDaniels\u2019 scoring increasing significantly if he were to be a No. 1 or No. 2 option on another team.<\/p>\n
If the Bucks decide they most value a single young piece to start building around in any Antetokounmpo deal, McDaniels may be their best option. It\u2019s hard to see how names like Miami\u2019s Tyler Herro or Golden State\u2019s Jonathan Kuminga, who could highlight packages from other teams, measure up to McDaniels. Even if the New York Knicks were to put Karl-Anthony Towns in a potential trade, McDaniels may still have the edge because his age and contract status makes him the kind of player who could be in Milwaukee for years to come.<\/p>\n
It would be hard to see McDaniels leave Minnesota. He is one of the best player-development stories in franchise history, one of the most diligent workers on the team and an immensely popular player with the fan base. The Wolves just gave out McDaniels hats at a game last week. His teammates and coaches love him as well.<\/p>\n
Getting in the game for a fish as big as Antetokounmpo requires big bait. It doesn\u2019t look like the San Antonio Spurs are tossing out Dylan Harper, and the Houston Rockets aren\u2019t offering up Alperen \u015eeng\u00fcn. It\u2019s hard to see who else can bring a single player to the table more attractive than McDaniels.<\/p>\n
What else?<\/p>\n
As promising as McDaniels is, it obviously would take a lot more than him to get Antetokounmpo. Randle would be another candidate to move on, given that he plays the same position as Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n
Finch called Randle the team\u2019s most important player prior to a game on Monday night against Memphis. Edwards is clearly the team\u2019s MVP, but Randle\u2019s ability to make plays for others and assume the role of point forward in lieu of a traditional point guard has been crucial to the team\u2019s success. He is averaging 22.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists, and had his name mentioned in All-Star conversations prior to a five-game losing skid in January that dropped the Wolves down the West standings.<\/p>\n
Randle may not appeal to a rebuilding Bucks team, but maybe Connelly could send him elsewhere for a first-round pick to redirect to Milwaukee.<\/p>\n
Naz Reid is another incredibly popular player and the longest-tenured Timberwolf. Finch said Reid is playing the best basketball of his seven-year career, making Reid a frontrunner for a second Sixth Man of the Year award. He is averaging 14.7 points and 6.4 rebounds off the bench, and is young enough to appeal to Milwaukee or get another first-round pick if he goes elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Rudy Gobert has put together an outstanding defensive season and has shown modest improvement on offense as well. He will turn 34 in June, making him a less attractive component of any multi-team deal. But if a playoff-bound team is looking for a rim protector and wants to add some pick compensation to the mix, Gobert could draw some interest.<\/p>\n
As far as young players, Rob Dillingham has been out of the rotation for most of the season and is definitely available. While his value is likely minimal, the Bucks could offer a real run for the former No. 8 pick and a chance to see if a change of scenery does him any good. Terrence Shannon Jr. has been hurt for much of the season but has shown promise as a rugged scorer off the bench.<\/p>\n
I left Donte DiVincenzo and Joan Beringer off this list because I don\u2019t believe the Wolves want to part with either player. I don\u2019t believe they want to part with Reid or McDaniels, either, but let\u2019s be honest: It\u2019s Giannis Antetokounmpo, man. Something has to give.<\/p>\n
Some combination of all of the above would highlight a player-centric package for the Wolves. Adding other teams to the mix only complicates the deal-making process.<\/p>\n
From my point of view, mixing and matching the players mentioned makes sense. But if it got to a point where they had to include McDaniels, Randle and\u00a0Reid? You might have to do it for a real chance to get a player of Antetokounmpo\u2019s impact. It would just make me nervous.<\/p>\n
Concerns in a deal<\/p>\n
There are questions to ask. It\u2019s not a no-brainer.<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo is 31 years old and has been through his fair share of injuries in recent seasons. He is currently dealing with a calf injury that could keep him out for several more weeks. If the Wolves liquidate their depth, could they hold position in the top six of the standings while waiting for him to get healthy?<\/p>\n
Would Antetokounmpo be open to coming to Minnesota to chase a championship if the Wolves have to give up a significant portion of their depth to get him?<\/p>\n
Finally, Antetokounmpo will require a new max contract to pair with Edwards\u2019 max deal. Could the Wolves build a team around the two of them with that kind of top-heavy salary structure? Having two big salaries isn\u2019t a deal-breaker. It just brings a different kind of challenge than the current roster setup.<\/p>\n
Other work to be done<\/p>\n
I believe that the Wolves, like most of the rest of the league, are waiting for full clarity on Antetokounmpo before they pivot to other business. They really need some backcourt help off the bench, but I don\u2019t think they want to jeopardize using any players or pieces in a deal for a seventh man before they exhaust all possibilities of adding a superstar like Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n
Sacramento has already traded Keon Ellis, a player that would have been a nice fit in Minnesota. There are other options out there. Chicago\u2019s Coby White or Ayo Dosunmu are interesting candidates. Memphis guard Ty Jerome, who made his season debut Saturday against Minnesota, would be another great fit. I\u2019m sure there are more names Minnesota is considering.<\/p>\n
It will be interesting to see how long the Wolves are willing to wait. They have a team that could be one player away from being a real factor in the West as is. How long will they hold out hope that one player is Antetokounmpo before they pivot elsewhere?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Minnesota Timberwolves are in\u00a0on the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. Sometimes, in the drama and rumor-filled NBA, it is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":578813,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3775],"tags":[7,103,102,121,3871,152,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-578812","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-milwaukee-bucks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bucks","10":"tag-milwaukee","11":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","12":"tag-milwaukeebucks","13":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","14":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116004842947030843","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=578812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/578813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=578812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=578812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=578812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}