The Minnesota Timberwolves would have acquired Kevin Durant had he green-lighted a trade that would have sent Rudy Gobert to the Phoenix Suns.
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Suns “had in-depth discussions” with the Timberwolves on a Durant trade before they accepted the Houston Rockets‘ offer.
Aside from Gobert, the Timberwolves would have sent Donte DiVincenzo, promising forward Terrence Shannon Jr. and the 17th pick of this year’s NBA draft to the Suns for Durant, Windhorst reported, citing sources.
“But Durant had made it known that the Wolves were not on his short list of preferred teams. And with just one season left on his contract, Durant had leverage. The talks faded,” Windhorst wrote.
Durant is Anthony Edwards‘ “favorite player of all time,” which also factored into the Timberwolves’ motivation in their pursuit of the two-time NBA Finals MVP since the trade deadline.
Edwards’ fondness for Durant is well-documented.
The Timberwolves star admitted he had mixed emotions after he led the Timberwolves in sweeping Durant and the Suns in the first round of the playoffs last year.
“I felt bad a little bit, only because he’s my favorite player of all time,” Edwards said at the time. “I didn’t wanna send him home like that.”
But the Timberwolves star did not do anything to change Durant’s mind on Minnesota.
“Talked to some people close to Anthony Edwards,” ESPN’s Marc J. Spears said on “NBA Today” on June 18. “This is a non-story. He’s in Atlanta working out. He loves his former teammate. He loves his current teammates. Some people close to me said he’s focused on what’s next with this team. And he’s not flying to L.A. to try to convince K.D. anything different.”
Timberwolves Miss Out on Bradley Beal
Getty Bradley Beal of the Phoenix Suns (L) and Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves embrace after the game.
Still reeling from the departure of Nickeil Walker-Alexander and missing out on Durant, the Timberwolves lost out again on a marquee free agent.
Three-time All-Star Bradley Beal opted to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers after reaching a buyout with the Suns, ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania reported.
According to Windhorst, 20 teams expressed interest in Beal, leading to his buyout agreement with the Suns. The 32-year-old guard
“Eventually, Beal met, via Zoom, with half a dozen teams about how he might fit with them,” Windhorst wrote.
No Marquee Star Wants to go to Minnesota?
The Timberwolves were one of those interested teams, NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer previously reported. They had more spending power than the Clippers, who allocated the remaining $5.3 million of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception to Beal.
The Timberwolves still have their $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception, which they will only use if they believe the player they acquire will make a significant impact next season, given how close they are to the second apron threshold of $207.8 million, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, citing league sources.
Beal would have been a bargain signing for the Timberwolves. He averaged 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 50/39/80 shooting splits last season for the Suns despite his clunky fit next to Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
Yet the Timberwolves could not attract a free agent despite the presence of Edwards.
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