Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- A major trade rumor suggests one Eastern Conference team could make a play for a Western star this offseason.
- The situation around the star hinges on whether his current team can build a contender fast enough to satisfy his championship goals.
- If the star requests a move, the team risks losing leverage and faces a make-or-break decision that could define the franchise's future.
Tim Connelly should be thanking his lucky stars for the Milwaukee Bucks right now, because if it weren't for the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, everybody would be paying a lot more attention to the Minnesota Timberwolves right now — and not in a good way.
Just an hour or so before Giannis was sent to South Beach on Monday night, ESPN's Shams Charania broke the news that Minnesota was sending Julius Randle and the No. 28 pick in Tuesday's draft to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for pick No. 33. The deal does bring the Wolves some needed financial flexibility: Even after signing Ayo Dosunmu to a five-year, $112 million deal, Minnesota is now some $31 million below the first apron, with multiple exceptions to work with as well. But it also raises major questions about what comes next, and whether it will be good enough to get Anthony Edwards the help he needs to get over the hump in the Western Conference.
Edwards himself doesn't seem too sure at the moment. On the latest episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN's Tim McMahon claimed that "the NBA vultures are swirling around [Edwards] in anticipation of him potentially becoming the next superstar who's available in the trade market," with Brian Windhorst adding that Edwards had been "frustrated" by the amount of double-teams he's faced since the team parted ways with Karl-Anthony Towns.
The West isn't getting easier anytime soon, and for as maligned as Randle was during this year's playoffs, he shouldered a big offensive load for a team without a ton of secondary creation. This was a meaningful step backwards; if Connelly can't follow it with a leap forward in the next year or two, it's not hard to imagine Edwards asking out — which could open the door for his hometown team to swoop in.
What a Hawks package for Anthony Edwards could look like
I realize that we're getting ahead of ourselves here. A rumor on a podcast is hardly reason to start shopping the face of your franchise, and Edwards hasn't said anything publicly about wanting out of Minnesota. Right now, though, it's hard to see Minnesota's path toward building a team that can genuinely challenge the likes of the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, and Edwards doesn't seem like the type to tolerate regression.
If Edwards, who has three years left on his rookie max contract, does signal that he wants out, the Wolves will want both a foundational player to build around and meaningful draft capital in return for an All-Pro-caliber player. It just so happens that the Atlanta Hawks can offer some of both.
Jalen Johnson struggled in his first go-round as offensive engine in a playoff series, but he's still an ascending player with dynamic two-way ability at just 24 years old. Kuminga, meanwhile, showed some real signs in that six-game loss to the New York Knicks. And then there's the Hawks' first-round pick next year, which will be the least favorable of the Pelicans' and Bucks' selections (top-four protected) — two pretty good bets, especially with Giannis now out the door.
Would the Hawks make this trade?
The Hawks have done well to pivot from the Trae Young era, but this team's lack of on-ball creation got exposed in the first round of the playoffs. Edwards would solve that problem and then some, allowing Nickeil Alexander-Walker to downshift into a more appropriate role and CJ McCollum to be a microwave scorer off the bench. Size would still be a concern, but Atlanta has two first-round picks this year with which to address that, plus cap space to burn.
And then, of course, there's the juice provided by bringing a megawatt star back to his home state, a place that's been clamoring for him ever since he left the University of Georgia. Edwards, NAW, Dyson Daniels and Onyeka Okongwu represents an awfully exciting core, and Atlanta would still have plenty of resources with which to work even without a first-rounder in 2027.
Verdict: Yes
Would the Wolves make this trade?
Look, the answer is obviously "no" ... unless, that is, Edwards does feel compelled to demand a trade. We're still not there yet; at the very least, Connelly will have this offseason to convince his tentpole star that better days are ahead. From here, though, a slow but steady decline feels more likely: Minnesota continues to shed talent, and while they freed up cap space in the Randle deal, they're without a first-round pick in 2027, 2029 and 2031.
Say that the Wolves do in fact get left in the dust by (at a minimum) San Antonio and OKC. Is Edwards really going to sit idly by until unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2030 — by which point he'll be almost 29? The clock is very much ticking, and if Minnesota can't get meaningfully closer to the Finals in 2026-27, it would hardly be surprising if Edwards decides he'd like to go elsewhere. If he does, that will nuke any leverage Connelly might have in negotiations, and I'm honestly not sure that Johnson isn't the best player the Wolves could expect back in return.
Minnesota could instead opt for a construction like, say, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Asa Newell and four first-round picks/swaps in order to restore their draft coffers, but is it wise to bet against a Hawks team that just added Edwards to a still-young core? Connelly is risking his future, and that of his franchise. He better hope it pays off.
Verdict: Not right now, but things can change in a hurry
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