Timberwolves rumors: Minnesota's stance amid Kevin Durant's disinterest
The Minnesota Timberwolves' stance on a potential Kevin Durant trade has been revealed. The Timberwolves are coming off another successful season that saw them make a second straight Western Conference Finals. Anthony Edwards is improving each passing year and has consistently elevated his play when his team needed it most. As the 23-year-old continues to develop, the front office is trying to surround him with the best supporting cast available while not doing anything drastic.
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The Western Conference will be an absolute gauntlet next year, and the Timberwolves will need to make some upgrades or certain players on the roster improve to make it back to the Conference Finals. One of the trades that has been floated over the past few weeks is Durant to Minnesota. However, the recent reports have been discouraging. The Athletic's Sam Amick and Jon Krawczynski provided clarity on how the Timberwolves and Suns feel about a potential Durant blockbuster.
'The Suns have made it clear to Durant's camp that they need to prioritize the best return for the team in a deal. What's more, they appear focused on landing the kind of impact players who can help now, as opposed to prioritizing draft picks. The Wolves would seem to have options available to offer, with Rudy Gobert or Julius Randle headlining a package that could give the Suns hopes of contending.
With the offers from the Spurs, Rockets, and Heat coming up short to this point, league sources say the Suns are still hopeful that Durant might warm to the Timberwolves possibility. The Timberwolves do not want to make a seismic change to a roster that advanced to the Western Conference finals if Durant is not on board with the move, team sources said. The question now is whether there's any chance of Durant coming around to the idea.'
The Timberwolves will need to make a decision on Randle soon. There's a decent chance three-time All-Star opts out of his player option in pursuit of a long-term deal. Randle had a slightly uneven regular season but really hit his stride toward the end. The 30-year-old was mostly terrific this postseason run. Gobert has two more years on his current deal before he's up for a player option as well.
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While the four-time Defensive Player of the Year can be a maddening center to watch at times, he is still a very valuable contributor on this roster and has played a significant role in this franchise's ascent. Trading for Durant is ultimately a move the Timberwolves would need to be sure about, since he is set to be a free agent after next season. It's ultimately not worth it for Minnesota to take a Toronto Raptors-Kawhi Leonard type gamble if that significantly mortgages the future.
Related: Timberwolves rumors: Kevin Durant has 'no desire' to play for Minnesota
Related: Anthony Edwards, Adidas are releasing new football cleats
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