Grade the Trade: Hawks send Dejounte to Timberwolves in stunning idea

Laying out the trade between Hawks and Wolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves are facing a financial crunch of their own, with an expensive team this season heading toward a punitively expensive one the following year when Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Karl-Anthony Towns will all have extensions kick in.

That will motivate the Wolves shopping Towns this summer, although they likely won’t be panicked to move him without strong value coming back. As a former All-NBA player it’s likely Towns will have value from teams this summer; with a supermax contract kicking in next summer, that value will be balanced with the financial realities. Kevin Durant, he is not.

Would the Hawks be interested in a deal? Let’s look at one potential construction:

The Timberwolves break Towns into two useful players, getting a starting point guard and a Sixth Man off the bench. Murray can set the table for Anthony Edwards and company, with the potential for a strong pick-and-roll game with Rudy Gobert. Bogdanovic will be starting a new contract extension and would pair with Mike Conley off the bench.

This deal gives the Wolves more financial flexibility moving forward and gives them a long-term answer at point guard. It’s a deal that makes sense for them. The question now becomes: would the Atlanta Hawks make this trade?