While there have been rumors about the Minnesota Timberwolves potentially making a trade for young star Ja Morant, a new report suggests an older NBA legend who is actually playing better could be a target in the weeks ahead.
After reaching the Western Conference Finals for a second straight season, hopes are high in Minnesota that the team can finally break through and reach the NBA Finals for the first time ever this season. However, while they have been better on offense over the first month and change, their usually elite defense has regressed, and they are giving up five more points a game.
The West is very good this season, and the Oklahoma City Thunder are on pace to set a new single-season record for wins. While they could try to upgrade the defense, rumors point to the Timberwolves looking for another impact player maker. It’s why they were linked to a Ja Morant trade last month. However, that seems less likely as we near the end of the year.
But there will still be some interesting options available on the trade market before the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline. One big-time talent that NBA insider Marc Stein thinks could be on the Timberwolves’ radar is none other than 11-time All-Star James Harden.
Could MIN Timberwolves Target James Harden Trade?
“Will the Clippers, if things worsen, actually give in and field Harden trade interest? He obviously continues to play at a level (26.0 PPG, 8.1 APG, 5.2 RPG) that should make the phone ring,” he wrote in a new Stein Line post. “And Minnesota, just to name one team, is known to be scouring the league at present for a true playmaker.”
The Los Angeles Clippers head into the weekend with an awful 6-20 record and are on pace for one of their worst seasons in a long time. With the team owning few future first-round picks and clearly in decline, they could pivot to freeing up future cap space and getting more draft assets before the deadline.
Although Harden is making just over $81 million this season and next, Stein does feel it is a contract that “shouldn’t be classified as impossible to move.”
