1 deal the Timberwolves must make in the 2025-26 NBA trade season

Just when it looks like Minnesota Timberwolves have begun to understand, they return to their old habits. Carrying a four-game winning streak into Christmas, it looked like the Timberwolves would become a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference, especially when that streak included a huge win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, but now they’ve lost two straight — including 123-107 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night.

There is no need for the Timberwolves to panic at this point. They pushed the Denver Nuggets to the brink on Christmas Day, demanding Nikola Jokić made a crazy game 56-16-15 just to beat them in overtime. But there is an overwhelming sense that Minnesota must make a change in order to unlock the full potential of their Anthony Edwards-led core.

Reports indicated that The Timberwolves are exploring the trade market for rush hour; they’ve had to rely mostly on Edwards, Donte Divincenz and Julius Randle to handle the playmaking load, and those players aren’t natural floor generals.

Minnesota even had to lean on Bones Hyland due to Mike Conley’s continued decline and Rob Dillingham’s lack of rotational merit. While the Timberwolves’ assets are very limited, a trade could still be made to address their point guard issues, especially now that it’s officially the trade season.

The Timberwolves want to shop low Darius Garland

Timberwolves pick up: Darius Garland

Cavaliers acquire: Julius Randle, Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, 2028 MIN 1st round pick swap

The Timberwolves have been doing their due diligence on the trade market, according to reports, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that they’ve been linked to every top point guard that could be on the market.

The Timberwolves’ potential trade targets include Ja Morant, James Harden and Kobe White. It all makes sense, as they have plenty of experience handling rock for their teams. But Minnesota can aim even higher and target Darius Garland, who could be one of the first off the sinking Cleveland Cavaliers ship.

Morant was once one of the fastest rising stars in the NBA, but his star has waned a bit over the past few years. A combination of off-the-field issues and injury woes have derailed the Memphis Grizzlies star’s progress, and his market value is lower than ever.

Maybe switching to Minnesota would help get Morant’s career back on track on life. Playing with Edwards is sure to light a fire under him. But declining athleticism and continued poor outside shooting make Morant a risk the asset-strapped Timberwolves could afford.

Harden would be an ideal acquisition for the Timberwolves; he is 36 years old and absorbs a lot of responsibility in the game and handling the ball. He’s also not under long-term contract, as he can enter free agency as early as 2026 if he doesn’t pick up his player option worth $42.3 million for the 2026-27 campaign.

The Beard may have a tendency to fall out of the playoffs, but Edwards will be the main man he will be catering to, so that shouldn’t be too much of a concern for the Timberwolves. However, with the Los Angeles Clippers showing signs of life, Harden is unlikely to be available on the market.

Kobe White looms as the most practical option for the Timberwolves; they just need to build a trade package around Conley’s contract to match the salaries and go from there. But it’s fair to wonder how much White would move the needle for this team. White also isn’t the type of veteran point guard who can calm his team down and get them to lock down and execute their offense, especially in crunch time (crunch time).

White is absolutely a point guard, but this Timberwolves roster needs a playmaker more than a shooter. White is more than the last.

To that end, The Timberwolves should just shoot for the moon and try to acquire Darius Garland, the one who got away from them in the 2019 draft.

Garland’s stock isn’t too high right now, and the Cavs have played absolutely terrible basketball lately compared to how they played last season. While Cleveland isn’t likely to blow up its roster in the middle of the season, desperation can make anyone do anything crazy. If the losses keep piling up for the Cavs, then that could possibly open up the possibility of trading Garland to the Timberwolves.

Acquiring Garland, who is a natural playmaker and knockdown shooter from beyond the arc, will cost the Timberwolves Randle. Randle has been very good this year, averaging 23/7/6. But he absolutely contributed to Minnesota’s inconsistency and lethargy at times.

His carelessness with the basketball can also be very costly late in games, and with Minnesota needing his playmaking, the team needs to have the ball in his hands at times when the game is close to back up Edwards. One of the Timberwolves’ most disappointing losses of the season, a breakdown against the Phoenix Suns back in late November, it was partially caused by Randle’s late-game struggles.

The good news for Minnesota is that they have Naz Reed who can always step into the starting lineup at the four. The Timberwolves could also opt to go small, with Jaden McDaniels at power forward.

This will be a slight departure from the Timberwolves identity. But acquiring Garland, someone who makes his teammates better, could be great for Edwards, in particular. Dominant scorers like Edwards tend to take the next step toward greatness when playing alongside a legitimate floor general — Garland certainly has the skill and talent to do the same for him.

The risk, of course, is that Garland could be very injury prone. His efficiency has also declined this season, and his defense will always be a question mark given that he is a small guard. But at this price, trading him should be easy for the Timberwolves.