The Minnesota Timberwolves officially have the last two No. 1 draft picks on their roster after saying goodbye to Kevin Love in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. They also added Thaddeus Young to join their core roster group that also consists of Ricky Rubio and center Nikola Pekovic. However, the Timberwolves intend on competing this season without Love and are eying trades before the end of the offseason. Does one member of the core group get dealt before the 2014 season kicks off?
There has been speculation that with rise of Gorgui Dieng, Pekovic could be traded in the near future. Several teams are still eying big men to put on the roster and Pekovic is one of the best out there. It also does not help that he has a young player underneath him impressing coaches. The Timberwolves have confirmed that they have received plenty of calls in regards to the availability of Pekovic along with Rubio and so far the team has not acted on any of the interest, but there is still time.
Steve Kyler of BasketballInsiders.com reports that the Timberwovles are growing more serious about a trade of Pekovic because of their confidence in Dieng. While a deal before the start of the season is not likely simply because no team is looking to take on more salary cap space, the idea cannot be ruled out. Minnesota liked the way Dieng looked in summer and view him as a candidate to start in the near future.
The Timberwolves might like the idea of Pekovic, but his contract makes him untouchable. The center is owed over $35 million until becoming a free agent in 2018. That is simply not a desirable deal to pick up at this point in the offseason. Pekovic is one of the best big men in the league right now, but not good enough to take on that salary.
After acquiring the young players, the Timberwolves have a lot of decisions to make regarding the players still remaining on the roster. Rubio is the next priority in Minnesota as the team must decide whether to trade the point guard or meet his max contract salary demands. Rubio understands his leverage with the Timberwolves and plans on working that to his advantage during free agency next summer. If the Timberwolves opt not to give in to demands, plenty of teams in the league will come calling.
