The Minnesota Timberwolves: A Glimmer of Hope?

Late last week the Timberwolves traded point guard Mike James to the Houston Rockets for power forward Juwan Howard. Considering how fervently they pursued James last off season, and the ridiculous contract they gave him, they will undoubtedly come out once again looking like uninformed rubes. Nevertheless, I’m in full support of this trade.

James had an unproductive season in which he failed to mesh with any of his teammates or carve out his niche playing alongside Kevin Garnett. He has been dead weight on the court, never providing the burst of offensive energy he promised, and has proven himself incapable of running an offense.

Howard, on the other hand, is a past his prime yet competent forward. He still has some offensive juice left in his tank, he’ll grab a few rebounds in the paint, and he’ll provide some much needed height to an undersized roster. If nothing else, Howard has only two years remaining on his contract, while James has three.

Seeing some actual movement in the Timberwolves’ front office has me thinking about potential trades. Admittedly, some of these are highly improbable, some are downright impossible, but some are just crazy enough to work.

1) We trade the #7 pick and Ricky Davis to the Los Angeles Clippers for their #14 pick. I know on the surface it seems illogical, but hear me out. McHale can’t be trusted with a pick as high as # 7. He’ll inevitably screw it up anyway (especially considering Joakim Noah will still be on the board. If we pick that guy I’m moving). Ricky Davis is a poison to any team he plays on, and the Clippers are one of the few teams dumb enough to take him. Plus, with the #14 pick we will probably be able to get Georgia Tech’s Javaris Crittenton, whom I would argue is one of the top five players in the draft in terms of potential.

2) We trade Troy Hudson…wait, nobody wants him. We trade him ASAP for whatever we can get, even if that means paying extra cash incentives for the last pick in the draft (who knows, LSU’s Glen Davis aka “Baby Shaq” might still be available). If we can’t trade him, we buy him out. McHale should be willing to give his big toe to be rid of that contract and to redeem that egregious miscalculation.

3) We package Mark Blount in the James/Howard deal in exchange for Dikembe Mutombo. Yes, Dikembe is old…very old. But he can still D up, which is all we really need from a big man, and more than we can ask from Blount. Contrary to popular belief, Blount is a waste of space. Yes, he can hit the open jumper, but what’s the point of a big man who refuses to spend any time in the paint? Also, Blount has a ginormous contract, and Mutombo will be retiring soon. More money to rebuild is a good thing.

4) This is a long shot, but then again Portland isn’t very smart. We trade Garnett (yes, I’d be more than willing to give him up. The Wolves will not win a championship while he is in Minnesota), Ricky Davis, Marko Jaric, and the #7 pick to Portland for the #1 pick and Brandon Roy. The #1 pick will give us Greg Oden, a freak of nature and a legitimate big man to build a franchise around. Roy was rookie of the year last season, and should have been ours (love ya Foye, but Roy is better). Imagine Foye playing the point, McCants at the 2, Roy on the wing, and Oden in the middle, with whomever at power forward (I like Craig Smith). That’s a championship team, and they’re all young. Boo ya.

5) This may be a little more realistic, but still won’t happen. Marko Jaric, Ricky Davis, and the #7 pick for Roy and Zach Randolph. Portland has been looking for a way to unload Randolph, who has proven nearly as cancerous as Ricky Davis. This will give them another lottery pick in a stacked draft. The only question is: will they be willing to part with Roy? (I wouldn’t).

6) How about Ricky Davis (I just really don’t like him) and Jaric to the Knicks for Stephon Marbury. Marbury is older now and injury prone, but maybe reuniting him with Garnett is exactly what they both need to reenergize. They are good friends, and the excitement was palpable back in the glory days when they were playing together. Besides, any deal that liberates us of Davis is worthwhile in my book.

7) Garnett and Davis to the Orlando Magic for Dwight Howard and Pat Garrity. In my opinion Howard is the future of the league. He’s only 21 years old and is a force to be reckoned with. He’s huge, he’s one of the strongest players in the league, he can rebound, score, play D, and if you watched the slam dunk contest you know he can touch the top of the backboard. That’s ridiculous. Garnett is quickly approaching his twilight years, and it would be in the Wolves best interest to deal him while he’s still marketable. Again, we get the bonus of being rid of Davis. Garrity was a throw in. He’s a PF that can shoot the J. Works for me.

Are any of these trades realistic? That remains to be seen. The more important question is: are McHale and theTimberwolves brain trust smart enough to make any of them happen? The answer to that, I fear, is no.

Thanks for reading.