Does this trade make sense for the Minnesota Timberwolves?
Bringing in John Collins would definitely tie the Timberwolves down financially for years to come, but this move could absolutely give them what they need to start winning games in the Western Conference. Moving Ricky Rubio and Malik Beasley for Collins is definitely an upgrade in talent and the Timberwolves would have a lot of firepower offensive with Towns, Edwards, Russell and now Collins.
The problem with bringing in John Collins though is that the Timberwolves would put themselves way over the salary cap for next season and likely over the hard cap as well, meaning that they would have to pay luxury taxes to have the team they do.
Seeing as they have made just one postseason appearance since the start of the 2004-05 season, this does not seem too logical for the T-Wolves to do, but at the same time, you have to spend money in order to field a competitive team in this league.
If Minnesota is willing to pay to put a solid team out there on the court, then this move definitely makes sense for them. Ricky Rubio and Malik Beasley are nothing more than rotational guys and role players for this team, which is why adding a young, key-talent like John Collins makes sense.
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Collins could come in and not only create a powerful “one-two punch” in Minnesota’s frontcourt next to Karl-Anthony Towns, but they would have four guys in their starting unit who are all more than capable of scoring 20+ points per night.
Going after John Collins in free agency seems to be something the Timberwolves are wanting to do, especially since the were trade rumors that Minnesota inquired to the Hawks at the NBA trade deadline this past season about Collins’ availability in trade talks. If they are willing to give him a max contract and willing to deal with this financial situation, then there is no reason why the Minnesota Timberwolves would not want to make this sign-and-trade a reality.
