Last season, Sacramento and Indiana made a trade to rearrange overlapping talent — could Atlanta and Minnesota do the same this year?

**PART ONE: Square Pegs, Round Holes sounds even dirtier these days**

Last season, the Indiana Pacers found themselves stuck in a rut. They had a veteran roster but middling results. At their core, there were doubts about whether or not Domatas Sabonis and Myles Turner would ever be a perfect fit next to each other. Sure, the two could play together — and stagger minutes throughout the game — but it may not have been the *ideal* use of their talent.

Fortunately, they found a trade partner that had a similar (but directly opposite) problem. The Sacramento Kings had two young stud guards in De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. While both could play together — and again, stagger minutes — they were both good enough to be lead playmakers on an offense. To maximize their potential, they probably should have been on their “own” teams.

The solution: a simple Sabonis for Haliburton swap. You can quibble about who got the better end of the deal (Haliburton is younger and cheaper, which helps), but you can’t argue that the *fit* is better on their new teams. Haliburton has free reign of an offense and has taken full advantage, while Sabonis is reminding haters that he’s a genuine All-Star (or at least fringe All-Star) when he’s allowed to do his best Jokic impression down low.

That trade is a great reminder of the delicate nature of NBA roster construction. It’s not a simple “sum of all parts” equation and more of a careful chemistry and balance between your lineups. And with the general success of that trade, it’s something that other teams may consider.

Naturally, that leads us to two more teams that may have some element of “overlap” : Minnesota and Atlanta.

—

**PART TWO: Minnesota Timber-wait,whats?**

Previous Minnesota basketball czar Gersson Rosas put his peg in the wrong hole and got fired, leading the new ownership to entrust veteran Tim Connelly with a fat contract and a flashing greenlight to do whatever he wanted with the roster.

Emboldened, Connelly made one of the bigger gambles of the offseason: trading multiple players and multiple picks for All-Star [Rudy Gobert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudy_Gobert). Even at the time, it was one of the bigger risks in recent memory. Most GMs would have been fine to sit on a young 46-36 roster and let them develop slowly, but Connelly went “all in” on a veteran with a long-term contract instead.

Few doubted Rudy Gobert’s ability — but most doubted his “fit” next to T-Wolves’ star Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns did play next to a true center back at Kentucky, but he’d been almost exclusively a center in the NBA. In fact, basketball-reference charted that he played 100% of his minutes at center over the previous 5 years — as had Gobert. Surely, something needed to give and someone would have to adjust.

In theory, the two may be able to mesh together in some way. With Gobert taking attention down low, Towns could maximize his excellent shooting touch and perhaps jack up 10+ threes a game. Defensively, it may be clunky, but Gobert was great enough to cover all manners of sin. In reality, that hasn’t happened yet. Towns is only up to 5.6 threes per game — a modest number not far removed from his career average. Worse yet, he’s not hitting them yet (32.5% on the year so far). The bigger surprise is that Gobert hasn’t aided the defense much. The T-Wolves rank # 16 on that end — which is actually below their # 13 rank last year. The individual advanced stats for Gobert are mixed — and overall not as dominant as expected. And forget advanced stats — the only stat that really matters is the record. Unfortunately, it’s an ugly one: as the T-Wolves sit at 16-21.

Of all potential outcomes, this ranks among the worst possible scenarios so far. It’s not an arrangement that can be easily annulled either. Both are on long-term contracts that average over $40M per year each. The two will combine for over $100 million dollars — as far out as *2025-26*. If it’s not working now, chances are it won’t be any prettier in four years. It’d be in the T-Wolves best interest to solve this riddle — sooner than later.

—

**PART THREE: Hawking your Spare Parts**

Meanwhile, Atlanta president Travis Schlenk found himself in the opposite situation than Tim Connelly. He’d been in charge since 2017, and oversaw a team that appeared to be stagnating since their surprise Conference Finals run. Schlenk must have felt some pressure to make a bold move to shake things up and boost the team back into the top 4 range.

The solution: cash in their depth and trade for All-Star guard Dejounte Murray. Murray was coming off the heels of a breakout season (21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 2.0 steals). Better yet, he had the reputation as the type of defensive superstar that could solve their biggest weakness. Perhaps having another ballhandler would also free up Trae Young to shoot more efficient shots.

So far, the results have been mixed. Offensively Murray is putting up numbers you’d expect from a second banana (20-5-6), but he hasn’t lifted Trae Young to new heights. Young’s three-point percentage is slowing ticking back up, but it still sits at 31.0% for the season. Turns out: it’s easier to have Steph Curry range than Steph Curry *results*. And while Murray has helped the defense lift up to # 12 overall, the team record is still at 17-19. It’s been disappointing enough that ownership has re-assigned Schlenk and elevated Landry Fields to be the official GM instead.

Going forward, Fields is going to have a difficult decision to make. Do you want to commit to this combo? Murray is only making $16.5M this year and only $17.7M next season, but he’d be anticipating an extension in the $30M+ range once that expires. If you did that, your payroll would be extreme in 2024-25 — with Trae Young making over $40 million and fellow starters DeAndre Hunter, John Collins, and Clint Capela all making $20M+ themselves. If the team isn’t a playoff lock, it’d be hard to lock yourselves in with that core.

—

**PART FOUR: Matchmaking Matchmaker Make Me a Match…**

If you’d read this far, you may see where this is going. The Minnesota Timberwolves have two expensive bigs… the Atlanta Hawks have two expensive (or soon to be expensive) lead guards…

Is there a way we can arrange a trade that can be mutually beneficial?

A Trae Young for Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster would be the most fun, but it feels too farfetched. Franchises don’t generally trade their best player unless there’s a gun to their heads.

Even if we slide the scale down to the Dejounte Murray and Rudy Gobert level, there are issues on both fronts. Atlanta’s not exactly starved for talent down low. Clint Capela is a solid starter who’s locked up through 2024-25, and rising big Onyeka Okongwu (still only 22) may take his place down the road. Rudy Gobert would be a positional upgrade, but not a seismic shift.

Similarly, Dejounte Murray would represent an upgrade in Minnesota, but it’d force the team to make its own decision and adjustment in regards to incumbent D’Angelo Russell. Russell has enough size to play some SG (where he may be well suited alongside Dejounte Murray) — or he could serve as a super Sixth Man. That said, he’s going to be a free agent this summer and may not want to adjust his role or his salary expectations after making $31M this past season. The other issue is that Minnesota probably doesn’t have a package to get Murray anyway unless they trade KAT or Anthony Edwards (which would be off the table). If Murray ends up in Minnesota, a third team would likely be involved in the negotiations.

—

**PART FIVE: Okay fine Matchmaker, we’ll settle for less**

A one-for-one trade isn’t going to be easy here, so we may have to get more creative and complicated with our machinations.

From Atlanta’s perspective, that’s easier to do. They have a lot of salary committed and even more salary to come, but those are not “dead weight” deals. Almost all of their players are tradable on their current contracts. If you open up the discussion some more, we can consider floating a deal with Clint Capela, or with PF John Collins ($23.5M + $25M + $26.5M + $26.5M), or even with SF De’Andre Hunter (whose contract boosts to $21M + $22M + $23M + $25M starting next year).

Personally, I’d be more open to trading De’Andre Hunter than most fans would. You can see glimpses here and there, but the Theoretical Hunter (who plays great defense and has Kawhi Lite offensive upside) has never actually manifested on a consistent basis. Other advanced stats differ, but box plus/minus grades his impact as -3.7 per 100 possessions so far this year. You could debate trading him and handing the SF reins to young A.J. Griffin, who has flashed some serious 3+D potential himself. The idea of trading John Collins feels more natural — especially if you believe reports that he doesn’t get along with Trae Young anyway.

If I’m Atlanta, I’d offer any 2 of these 3 players (Hunter, Collins, Capela) for Karl-Anthony Towns. A Trae Young + KAT lineup is potent enough to ignore the defensive ramifications. Ideally you’d want to include Capela in the deal since you’re getting a center back anyway.

If I’m Minnesota, I’m not parting with KAT unless you twist my arm. Rudy Gobert…? You can have him with more of a handshake. It’d amount to an embarrassing “mulligan” on their part to trade Gobert, but they could theoretically get 2 younger starters for him. You can debate which two — the ones we mentioned or perhaps Bogdan Bogdanovic (on a $18M deal). Any combination would be worth considering from Minnesota’s perspective. From Atlanta’s, it’d only make sense if they view Rudy Gobert as a positive value on his long-term deal.

—

**PART SIX: Swiping Left and Right**

Of course, Minnesota isn’t the only potential trade partner for Atlanta. If the Hawks actually decided to trade Dejounte Murray — or any of their other young starters, really — they would have a good amount of options.

If I’m Atlanta, I’d at least make the call and consider adding Bradley Beal or Zach LaVine if they become available. Both are on massive deals — Beal at $43M + $47M + $50M + $54M + $57M player option — and LaVine on $37M + $40M + $43M + $46+ $49M — and both have an injury history. That said, they’re both natural shooting guards with good shooting range, which may make them a more seamless fit than Dejounte Murray has been.

Toronto has been a surprise disappointment so far, so they’d be a natural call for either of our struggling teams. Both Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. are on expiring contracts, making them potential targets. FVV could fit well on Minnesota (if they’re moving off D’Angelo Russell anyway) and Gary Trent Jr. would fit well on Atlanta as a stronger-framed shooter. You wouldn’t immediately think a team with Trae Young needs more shooting, but the Hawks are bottom 5 in three-point attempts. (In related news: their coach is still Nate McMillan.)

In terms of even bigger swings, the Hawks could try and see if the Los Angeles Lakers are ready to implode. Getting LeBron James feels fantastical, but perhaps you could talk the team into giving up Anthony Davis in return for a boatload of depth. Davis’ contract ($38M this year) would only match with 2 of the Hawks we mentioned, but that could change if they included Russell Westbrook’s salary ($47M) or if they waited until this summer. It may sound ridiculous for the Lakers to break up LeBron James + Anthony Davis, but if they can add 3 or 4 competent starters to put around James then it may be worth discussing. And if I’m Atlanta, I’d debate a mega deal like that even if it guts my depth. Minor tweaks (like adding Eric Gordon or Jae Crowder types) aren’t going to be enough to change your fortunes in a significant way.

—

**TL;DR**

Minnesota and Atlanta made huge gambles this summer that haven’t paid off as expected so far, partly due to some overlapping skill sets. And while it may feel like they’re going to have to suck it up and live with the consequences given the contracts involved, both have some wiggle room to make adjustments — particularly if they do it sooner than later while those stars still have trade value.

by ZandrickEllison