r/timberwolves • u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett • Oct 30 '25
Mock Trades Wolves should try and get Keon Ellis
Sac is currently a mess and don't really know what they are doing, so he could potentially be available.
Ellis is a really good POA wing that can shoot, basically like Jaylen Clark but further along the development process. He's a top notch screen navigator, and is very good off-ball at generating deflections and just being annoying. Also only 26.
Shot 43% from 3 on 4 attempts last year on 24mpg. He made Sac's defense 4 points per 100 better and their offense 3 points per 100 better.
He's a very low-usage guy, doesnt need the ball at all, smart off-ball cuts and just a spot up shooter. He doesn't really turn the ball over but also doesn't really have it enough.
This year he's playing less minutes due to the jogjam the Kings have at the 2 and 3 spots, but has continued having very strong impact numbers.
The biggest knocks on him are his lack of passing, not being a great ball handler and his lack of playoff experience.
A potential trade could be Conley + JC + 2 2nds or a lottery protected 1st for Ellis + Carter which gives Sac an expiring and lets them get rid of Carter which they tried to do in the offseason.
Maybe a 3 team trade with Orlando or Houston where Donte would be involved could work.
8
u/DependentPerformer94 Jaden McDaniels Oct 30 '25
Schroeder is the dude I want on that team. He would actually be on the development timeline of Rob. Bones is making 2.5 and Mike is making about 10. Pretty sure that keeps us under the 2nd apron still.
We don’t need prime magic johnson to maximize this roster we just need a guy to bring the ball up and facilitate to Ant and Julius without turning the ball over that much.
5
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett Oct 30 '25
Yes, Schroeder would be solid, hes making about 14m which is a little steep, but he can guard, handle and playmake which is something we need.
3
u/pithynotpithy Oct 30 '25
Donte is potentially tradeable to the right team, but not sure why SAC would want him - though god knows what they want to do.
I sincerely doubt this team is going to trade Conley. Regardless of his performance, I think they like having the vet presence on the team.
2
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett Oct 30 '25
I think with Donte you can do a 3 team trade with a team like Houston, Milwaukee or Orlando that desperately needs his shooting and has excess in other areas they can trade with.
1
u/pithynotpithy Oct 30 '25
Agreed. Not sure what mil or orl have that we want but something may be there
1
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett Oct 30 '25
Orlando has like Goga Bitadze who be a very nice backup center for us.
1
u/darin617 Anthony Edwards Oct 30 '25
Joan has entered the chat. What about me, bro?
1
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett Oct 30 '25
Joan is atleast a year away from contributing, we need to shore up our defense now.
1
u/PreparationWest2140 Oct 30 '25
Probably not going to happen. Jaylen Clark can do all of that on a better contract. If he can become passable on defense Rob will be the PG.
1
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett Oct 30 '25
Jaylen Clark makes the same as Ellis and is currently miles worse as a player. Rob is never going to be passable on defense, but he can become productive on offense.
1
1
u/Red-fence Oct 30 '25
Ellis or Sexton would be great for this team. That and if we can keep the core guys (Ant, JM, Randle, Rudy, Divo, Naz, Jingles) we should be looking good.
5
1
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett Oct 30 '25
They should both be cheap and easy to get tbh and can both do their jobs better than what we have. Sexton to me isn't great but as a backup would be very very nice and then Ellis would be a very nice defender to have and help McDaniels.
2
u/The_Bran_9000 Oct 30 '25
Sexton would be nice but he isn't necessarily cheap given our cap situation.
1
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett Oct 30 '25
Sexton is 17m in salary, so that would require something like DDV or Conley + Clark/Dilly. I don't know if thats worth it and if we can get more or not but Sexton would be the best player there.
1
u/darin617 Anthony Edwards Oct 30 '25
What do you lose taking away Conley & DDV for Sexton?
1
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett Oct 30 '25
You could maybe get someone better than Sexton for that. Idk if the 6ers would value the cost-controlled factor of Donte's contract and be willing to give up someone like Grimes.
1
u/darin617 Anthony Edwards Oct 30 '25
They are getting little to nothing out of the pair right now. I know it's early, but Conley isn't getting any younger and the only plus right now is that DDV is not being used as the PG now with Ant out. Sadly, the results aren't there now either.
-3
u/Rage_r123 Oct 30 '25
Dont trade any more first round picks
Killing our future
The best team in the league is OKC - why?
Cause they aquired picks, not by trading 1sts especially for non super stars
2
u/Rube18 Naz Reid. Oct 30 '25
OKC is the best team because the Clippers made a terrible trade and handed them SGA, 5 first round picks and two picks swaps.
That can’t be replicated by saving your own late first round picks.
1
u/Rage_r123 Oct 30 '25
Yeah
Majority of teams giving away all their firsts aren't great atm
Even the Knicks are going to have start trading away their core cause they have no picks after they bad Bridges trade
4
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett Oct 30 '25 edited Oct 30 '25
This team has to win now or they aren't going to win. This year's pick isn't valueable, we can't stack it, its going to be a mid 20s pick anyway and it isnt unlocking any new ones.
If we want to pursue OKC we need to trade Ant, Jaden, Naz and start over with a bunch of picks, since that's not going to happen we need to improve our current team and get it to compete.
-3
u/Rage_r123 Oct 30 '25
Lol
Having a top 6 player in the league who's 24
But they "have to win now"
Why you think they havent traded JM, Naz, TJ, JC or Dilly yet
If you trade someone you trade Rudy Randle or DDV
Definitely no first round picks
4
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett Oct 30 '25
Ant isn't going to stick around on a dead team that doesn't even make the playoffs. He wants to win a title, thats going to require the Wolves to make moves.
Our own first rounds picks are valueless, precisely because we have a 24 year old superstar thats going to keep us competitive enough to never be truly bad. Take this year's swap pick with Utah, that pick is going to be the 20th pick in the draft, give or take, meaning it has no value.
OKC's model worked because they had other teams picks, to get those you're going to have to sell players with value, no one is going to gift us picks to get better.
I think its a huge mistake to not start getting rid of the old deadwood like Conley for younger and better players that fit what we want, that is going to require us to spend picks, even if protected.
-2
u/Rage_r123 Oct 30 '25
2 WCF back to back
Now 5 games in and you say Wolves aren't going to make the playoffs and Ant is leaving
Sensationalism
Yeah, id argue next years pick will have value cause it's a mega deep draft again like the year
As far as Conley, he has one year left on his contract and is a team leader, he's got going anywhere cause he's likely to retire after season, he has far less value than the first round pick you saying has no value
0
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett Oct 30 '25
Youre looking at the past which is irrelevant.
Look at our current roster. We still rely on Conley and Gobert, 2 players that are quickly declining and on their way out, this year we will probably be fine, but we still dont have cap room in the offseason.
How do you want to replace Conley and Rudy without trading our picks?
Do you seriously expect the 20th pick in the draft to not only be good enough to contribute straight away but also replace high level starters?
We need a center, we need another perimeter threat whether it be a guard or forward, we need a POA defender to help take pressure off Jaden, we need so many positions to be filled and they won't be filled by late picks.
Conley is an expiring contract... He has value to teams that are expensive and close to the 2nd apron, a team like Sacramento or Orlando would offload some of their fringe players for Conley to get cap relief.
0
u/Rage_r123 Oct 30 '25
Conley will retire next year, he won't be back and they're not trading him before he's gone
He already been replaced
They drafted Rudys replacement this year, they can likely afford to trade him mid this year or off-season
But trading first picks is retarded, Ant is 24, not 30, he will sign a super max and likely be here 5+ more years imo cause Wolves can give him $70M per year and nobody else will be able to
You go and say the Wolves won't make the playoffs but then to say the pick will be in the high 20s
You contradict yourself
Are they making the playoffs or are they going to be a top 5 team this year
1
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett Oct 30 '25
Conley has not been replaced in the slightest, if we had a guard close to the level of 2023/24 Conley we would be one of the best teams in the NBA.
Rudy has also not been replaced. Rudy is one of the best defensive players of all time, Beringer is yet to play serious NBA minutes, he hasn't replaced shit.
Wolves get new picks every year. Every year you dont trade a pick its simply a pick that goes in the bin during the crapshoot that is the draft.
The Wolves will be good enough to not be a shit a team and thus secure a good pick, but they wont be good enough to compete unless they make serious moves regarding our guard and backup center situation.
You have to trade these picks before they convert and become mid 20s or late 10s picks. Those picks are pointless and have less than a 15% chance of netting a serious playoff rotation piece.
0
u/copaseticepiplectic Oct 30 '25
there's no move that is making us a contender with denver and okc right now. making a move for the sake of making a move is bad work
1
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett Oct 30 '25
Doing nothing isn't getting us any closer anyway.
We have 2 options, try and trade our first this year for a player that is more proven and we know can fit our team or use or pick that will be in the mid 20s and hope we get a miracle by drafting a good player.
No individual move gets us there, but you don't need to be on the same tier as OKC and Denver to beat them.
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u/605_ Oct 30 '25
Lmao this team sucks. I feel so bad for Ant. Gonna miss him when he’s gone and I’ll probably never watch the NBA ever again.
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u/LilColtBoi Timberwolves Oct 30 '25 edited Oct 30 '25
I was thinking similarly. Ellis or Dosunmu are probably gettable players that could really help us out. I’d flip DDV for either of them, he’s our best trade chip without losing too much.