Wolves: A Trade In the Works?
By Stephen Litel
December 1st, 2008
1 Comment
Recent rumors have mentioned trade talks between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Bobcats. From the Wolves side, the prominent name in the talk is that of Rashad McCants. Different versions of the rumors state Charlotte would send point guard Raymond Felton or Gerald Wallace, as Minnesota would send McCants, possibly Jason Collins and a first round pick for either player and other filler.
Count me down as one who would like to see Gerald Wallace in a Minnesota Timberwolves uniform.
Certainly, the acquisition of Wallace would not turn the Timberwolves into championship contenders, but he brings so many things to the table this team desperately needs. After arriving in Charlotte from Sacramento, Wallace has become a more than solid NBA player and, more importantly, a dependable scorer. Currently, the Timberwolves best perimeter players--Randy Foye, Mike Miller and McCants--all struggle with consistently being the outside player to compliment Al Jefferson inside.
Wallace also has another quality this team needs…the ability to put the ball on the floor, drive to the hoop and either dish to an open teammate, draw a foul or finish with an athletic dunk. He is an exciting offensive player, seemingly always in attack mode, and that would pay dividends for players such as Foye and Miller.
Even if Wallace’s penetration doesn’t create an open shot for these players, it would put the defense in scramble mode. This would allow for Foye or Miller to get by their defenders with more ease if they are already on their heels when the ball swings to them. Foye has his limitations in that department and Miller has admirably tried to put the ball on the floor, but he’s much more effective when he’s the secondary attack or, of course, if he’s open for a three pointer.
Another positive aspect of acquiring Wallace is he is also great in transition. His constant aggression on the court creates open court opportunities for his teammates and for his own highlight reel dunks. In the end, the Timberwolves may not win games at a higher clip than they currently do, but Wallace’s excitement would throw the fans a bone by giving them an “ooh” and “ahh” a couple times a game.
Now, what would be the downside to this trade?
If the rumors would end up being true, Jason Collins would go along with McCants to Charlotte. Unless Minnesota has another plan in mind, this would force Al Jefferson back to the center position a majority of the time. Never considered a great NBA center, it is not a coincidence the team has played closer to respectable basketball since Collins was inserted into the starting lineup. Although perspective must be kept, in the brief window of time Collins pushed Jefferson to the power forward and Ryan Gomes to the small forward position, the case for Big Al playing the four alongside a dependable center seems to have been made a bit more solid.
Does that mean end of the bench warmer Calvin Booth will play a decent amount of minutes for the remainder of the season? That’s certainly not the answer. The subtraction of Collins, along with forcing Jefferson back into the center position may help solidify the team needs in the draft and free agency this coming summer.
In the end, there are positives and negatives to this proposed trade, but mark me down as one who believes the Timberwolves should pull the trigger. Alongside all of the above, there’s also the factor of trading McCants just might be an “addition by subtraction” situation. After showing some promise and many disappointments, it just may be time to ship the ever moody, ever ego-filled player back to North Carolina.
