Minnesota Sports Forum

WildWolf2813 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 3:51 pm I don't get this at all.


Trading for Giannis requires TC to do the two things he's been at best subpar at during his tenure:

1. Hitting in the draft

2. succeeding on the margins. NAW's his #1 success story and he's gone now.

kekgeek wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 3:42 pm The Timberwolves are looking for help from third and fourth teams to help facilitate a Giannis trade to Minnesota, per @WindhorstESPN

WildWolf2813 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 3:51 pm I don't get this at all.


Trading for Giannis requires TC to do the two things he's been at best subpar at during his tenure:

1. Hitting in the draft

2. succeeding on the margins. NAW's his #1 success story and he's gone now.

SameOldNudityDrew wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 4:46 pm One theory for why TC would go all in for Giannis is that he doesn't think we could win with this roster as is.

I didn't see who posted this earlier, but it was a smart breakdown of how good our individual players are, and then an observation that we're still just one of 6-8 really good teams out West.

Fair enough. I can see the logic behind going all in, since Giannis and Ant would give us probably the best one-two punch in the league. And arguably, star power is what wins championships.

But I'm a little wary of this line of reasoning for a couple reasons.

First, there have been plenty of top-heavy teams that WEREN'T contenders. If we have to trade away everything but the kitchen sink to get Giannis, are we really contenders with those two, a couple rotation players, and a G-League roster? What if this doesn't work? It very well might not if we have to give up too much. How could we build around those two without assets? We have to account for that risk. The ceiling could be very high, but the chance of reaching it would still depend on putting a solid roster around those two, and that won't just happen on it's own.

Second, what if being one of the top 6-8 teams is enough? We are all assuming OKC is on another level, and maybe they are, but they don't really have a second superstar. Not REALLY anyway. And yet, they're great. So you don't really NEED two superstars. And as good as they are, OKC isn't unbeatable. Any team in those top 6-8 in the West that stays healthy and gets real buy-in from the guys on the team honestly probably has a halfway decent shot, I think. And we're right there. Hell, we've been one of the last 4 teams standing two years in a row now. That's damn good, and I do think there's a possibility we could go further this year. It'll also mean a lot more with guys who have kind of grown up here. If we go to the Finals and win, think about how much more awesome it'll be if Ant, Jaden, and Naz are on the roster for that. Also, even pursuing a guy as hard as we seem to be can alienate guys currently on the roster. We should be a little careful not to mess with the chemistry here.

I'm not saying we shouldn't trade for Giannis if it's possible. I'm just saying we should think long and hard about what we'd have to give up before doing it, and avoid falling into the trap of thinking that 1) we'd automatically be a contender with Giannis, and 2) we're not already a contender now.

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 5:19 pm The biggest variable in a Giannis trade is how many games per year you can count on him to play. He's almost always on the injury report, and these things tend to get worse over time. Our guys play and I don't think you can minimize the value of that. That being said, has there ever been a better potential duo than Ant and Giannis? I think the closest would be Magic and Kareem. Dwayne and Lebron weren't as good. Bird and McHale weren't as good. Jokic and Murray aren't as good. Hakeem and Drexler weren't as good. Doc and Moses weren't as good. You could make a case for Steph and KD, and Lebron and Irving. And both of those duos won championships.

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 5:19 pm The biggest variable in a Giannis trade is how many games per year you can count on him to play. He's almost always on the injury report, and these things tend to get worse over time. Our guys play and I don't think you can minimize the value of that. That being said, has there ever been a better potential duo than Ant and Giannis? I think the closest would be Magic and Kareem. Dwayne and Lebron weren't as good. Bird and McHale weren't as good. Jokic and Murray aren't as good. Hakeem and Drexler weren't as good. Doc and Moses weren't as good. You could make a case for Steph and KD, and Lebron and Irving. And both of those duos won championships.

AbeVigodaLive wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 6:41 pm

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 5:19 pm The biggest variable in a Giannis trade is how many games per year you can count on him to play. He's almost always on the injury report, and these things tend to get worse over time. Our guys play and I don't think you can minimize the value of that. That being said, has there ever been a better potential duo than Ant and Giannis? I think the closest would be Magic and Kareem. Dwayne and Lebron weren't as good. Bird and McHale weren't as good. Jokic and Murray aren't as good. Hakeem and Drexler weren't as good. Doc and Moses weren't as good. You could make a case for Steph and KD, and Lebron and Irving. And both of those duos won championships.

The duo could be all-time great. Both guys are insanely good... and appear to be committed to being great and winning.

But a minor quibble... D. Wade was DEFINITELY better than Kyrie Irving at the beginning of the Heat's run together. Kyrie made only one All NBA team with James (3rd team). Wade was in the top 10 for MVP each of the first three seasons with James.

Others:

Shaq + Kobe Bryant
Jordan + Pippen
Russell + Cousy


[Note: The rub is that two guys might not be enough. Who's the James Worthy? Chris Bosh? Klay Thompson? Sam Jones?]