Brandon Knight of the Phoenix Suns dribbles the ball during the game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 18, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo : Getty Images/Andy Lyons)
The Minnesota Timberwolves could be pushed at the forefront of NBA trade rumors because of the recent injury suffered by Zach Lavine.
The team has been hounded by trade rumors specifically involving Ricky Rubio and the alleged desire of Coach Tom Thibodeau to reunite with some of his former wards from the Chicago Bulls. However, none of those trades have yet to come into fruition.
An unexpected development for the Timberwolves emerged when the reigning Slam Dunk champion Zach Lavine fell injured while having a career season for the Timberwolves. According to Derek James of ESPN 1500, replacing Lavine at this point is a tough task.
"There's no other way to say it: losing Zach LaVine for the season is a disappointment." James illustrates: "Does Shabazz Muhammad see more time at small forward and Andrew Wiggins slides over to shooting guard? Otherwise, slotting Kris Dunn next to Ricky Rubio for stretches seems less than ideal. In fact, according to BasketballReference.com, they've yet to play the two together. And there's probably a reason for that."
James concluded: "Realistically, the Timberwolves will need to find outside help."
Shabazz Muhammad is one player that the Wolves actually want to trade and if Thibs can help it, he would rather look for other options via trade instead of letting Muhammad fill the void. While the UCLA standout is a capable scorer, he has been accused of being a "blackhole" by ESPN top scribe Zach Lowe.
"It's honestly unclear if Muhammad knows he is allowed to pass to the humans wearing the same colored uniforms. Muhammad has 15 assists -- total! -- in almost 800 minutes, putting him on pace for one of the lowest assist seasons in league history for a wing player who gets the ball so much. The dude is a complete black hole," Lowe said.
Brandon Knight's trade value has plummeted this season, but the he has recently improved his game. The best situation for the Suns to trade him is for a team that is suddenly in need. Matt Moore of CBS believes the Suns should move him. "I'd say same (should be traded for a young player or picks) with Brandon Knight but he literally has the worst plus-minus in the NBA."
The Wolves could trade for Brandon Knight with Ricky Rubio and Muhammad as bait, or send both to another team in exchange for picks which could be sent to the Suns. Knight is a scoring point guard who can pass better than Muhammad and score better than Rubio, just what they need at this point.
