I recently stated in my article about who will be the face of the NBA that Anthony Edwards has the league to lose, but that the Wolves must construct a good roster around him. In this deal, they sell low on KAT to build a perfect supporting cast for Edwards and Gobert.

Why the Wizards do this:

The Wizards simply scam the Wolves out of an All-Star level teammate for Jordan Poole, building a team that could seriously make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference as early as this season. If Poole is as good as his peers say he is, this team could seriously be a contender a few years down the line. They don’t give up a first round pick or any core member of their roster in exchange for an All-Star. The toughest loss is Tyus Jones but they have Delon Wright and there’s plenty of free agent point guards who deserve another chance.

Why the Timberwolves do this:

I just said the Wolves get scammed here, so why is this deal not simply awful? The reason is that the players are each perfect fits alongside Edwards, Gobert, and McDaniels. The Wolves need 3&D players and a point guard to eventually replace Mike Conley, and they get all of that here. Tyus Jones comes in and is a steady hand at the point, allowing Conley to move to a bench role as he ages. Shamet, Kispert, Gallo, and Gill are all solid secondary scorers for Edwards, allowing Gobert to focus on his defense. This is essentially a Kobe-Shaq team build except Shaq can’t play offense and it should work to make the Timberwolves a dynasty or close to it.

This trade is quite strange but I think it works both ways. Let me know what you think in the comments!