The Minnesota Timberwolves are expected to be active in the two weeks leading up to the NBA trade deadline. Players likely to be traded by Minnesota reportedly include Thaddeus Young, Mo Williams, Kevin Martin and Chase Budinger.
Minnesota is 9-40 and lottery bound. Team president and coach Flip Saunders hasn't been able to do much with his current roster, and all signs continue to point to him being a big-time seller before the Feb. 19 deadline passes.
"I think it's very possible," Basketball Insiders' Alex Kennedy wrote Wednesday. "They entered the season naively believing that they could snap their decade-long postseason drought, but that obviously hasn't been the case.
"Now, I think they might as well deal off their veterans to stockpile draft picks and young players. They may want to keep some of the veterans around to help develop the young players, but I do think they're a team that could be a seller as the deadline approaches. Executives will be calling, and I could see guys like Thaddeus Young, Mo Williams, etc. getting moved just like Corey Brewer was (especially if one of those guys ask to be moved, like Brewer did)."
Basketball Insiders' Steve Kyler also believes Minnesota will be active prior to the deadline, naming Young, Martin and Budinger as players likely to be on the move.
Young is likely drawing the most interest from teams. Although any team who trades for him risks him leaving in the summer, the small forward would be a boon for teams needing an upgrade at the 3-spot. One team linked to Young is the Brooklyn Nets, who reportedly covet the 26-year-old.
The biggest obstacle standing in Saunders's way of nabbing a future first-round draft pick for him, as alluded to above, is the fact Young can opt out of his contract after the season.
Martin is also a valuable asset, especially given the wrist injury that sidelined him for more than two months doesn't appear to be an issue anymore - he's averaging 20.6 points in his first five games back.
