The Timberwolves’ trade proposal for the Clippers pairs James Harden with Anthony Edwards

Considering how the 2025-26 season has gone so far for Minnesota Timberwolvesyou’d think they were kind of languishing with a sub .500 record. But even with resounding defeats and embarrassing choke jobsThe Timberwolves are 14-8 on the season and look very poised to compete in the West and defend their Western Conference finalist status.

However, it’s no secret that it is The Timberwolves bar is exploring the trade marketpreferably for rush hour. According to reports, they’ve been kicking the tires on a potential trade for Ja Morant, the embittered and enigmatic GM of the Memphis Grizzlies — perhaps taking advantage of the fact that Morant’s trade value is at an all-time low amid his frustration with his situation on Beale Street.

But the Timberwolves aren’t without their options on the market, so they might prefer to find an alternative to Morant. For this purpose, someone like James Harden could be available amid the mess of the Los Angeles Clippersif NBA insider Brett Siegel’s ClutchPoints report is any indication.

The Clippers recently sent Chris Paul home in a shocking move in the middle of his retirement tour with the team he’s best known for. And there seems to be a possibility that LA could just blow it all and start over even though they owe their 2026 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder in an unprotected way.

Harden certainly raises the Timberwolves’ ceiling as a playoff contender, while also making them a more consistent team in the regular season. But will Minnesota be willing to trade what it takes to acquire the Clippers star?

Here’s the trade package the Timberwolves have to consider sending to LA in exchange for Beard.

The Timberwolves are finally solving their point guard issues

Timberwolves trade: Julius Randle, Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, two second-round picks

Clippers trade: James Harden, Nicolas Batum

The change is an admission that the Timberwolves’ gamble on Rob Dillingham in the 2024 NBA draft was a miscalculation. Minnesota, amid a lack of trade assets, decided to gamble away its 2030 first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs to acquire the draft rights to Dillingham — apparently preparing for a future behind Mike Conley.

Now the post-Conley future is here, and Dillingham is not yet ready for starting quarterback duties. It’s not even clear if he’s ready for the rotation. He’s small, a below-average defender, and doesn’t really impact the offensive game at a high enough level for the Timberwolves to live with the other flaws in his game.

However, Dillingham is only 20 years old, and learning how to be a point guard in the NBA can be difficult. Even someone like Darius Garland or Jamal Murray took some time to marinate before becoming two of the best floor generals in the league.

Anthony Edwards is only 24 years old, while Jaden McDaniels is 25, so the clock isn’t ticking that fast for the Timberwolves. Logic would dictate that they should give Dillingham at least one more season to develop, but he’s looked so far from being a meaningful contributor on a consistent basis that it might be time to cut him loose while others still see him as someone with potential.

Edwards, despite his progress as a playmaker, is not a primary handball player, and sometimes he was overwhelmed in carrying the burdens the Timberwolves ask of him. But having Harden around would make things a lot easier for Edwards because he doesn’t have to run the offense on almost every possession.

Harden may be 36 years old, but he’s still one of the best playmakers in the league. At this point in his career, he’d most certainly like to take the backseat, but the Clippers’ plight is forcing him to put up herculean numbers just to give LA a chance to win.

Edwards would allow him to be the main orchestrator, relieving him of the duties of the main shooter. This should free up Harden to be a bigger contributor defensively, and they should also get the best out of their big men, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reed, with Harden setting the table for them.

A huge loss for the Timberwolves would be Randle. Randle has been pretty good this year, averaging 22.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. But General, Randle is not. Randle has had plenty of bad moments in the clutch, which is another reason why the Timberwolves need a true point guard to set things up for them in close games.

Randle, however, is key to it identity of the Timberwolves. They beat the Los Angeles Lakers on the glass in last year’s playoffs, and Randle is a mismatch problem for most forwards in the league. But the Timberwolves have Naz Reed to take over at power forward anyway, which makes the loss of Randle much less.

This would cut the Timberwolves’ frontcourt depth, which is why acquiring Nicolas Batum will also be important in this transaction. Batum is far from his best, and is one step closer to retirement every day, but he can at least defend bigger forwards and some wings while providing some spacing and rim protection.

It also helps that Batum is familiar with Gobert, being a French compatriot, which should ease any transition for Batum, especially as he looks to retire to LA under the tutelage of head coach Tyronn Lue.

The Clippers would like to keep Batum, but at this point, the 6’8″ forward may want a chance to compete for a title. Minnesota could give Batum that chance.

Minnesota could also target Paul in the trade, but it’s a surplus of the old guard at the moment. The Timberwolves will still have Conley after this hypothetical trade, so the spot for the old floor generals who primarily just serve as mentors at this point is already taken.

Considering how productive Harden continues to be, adding a few second-round picks to further sweeten the deal shouldn’t be a problem for the Timberwolves. Leonard Miller could also be a small project for the Clippers.