Should the Timberwolves trade Karl-Anthony Towns or Andrew Wiggins?

The Minnesota Timberwolves are reeling. They came into the season as a playoff hopeful team and the season has gone about as poorly as possible. The Wolves have the second worst record in the Western Conference, making the playoffs seems like a pipe dream. At least there is a reasonable excuse for their failure. Karl-Anthony Towns has missed 17 games this season due to a knee injury and a suspension and Minnesota has won just six of those games.

Can the Timberwolves even trade Andrew Wiggins?

Between Andrew Wiggins and Towns, the superior player is clear. KAT was an All-Star last year and is one of the best big men in the NBA. Factor in that he’s only 24 years old, Towns is the guy the Wolves want to build around. It makes sense for Minnesota to trade Andrew Wiggins, but does it make sense for any time to trade for him? The answer is probably not. After this season, he will have three years and nearly $100 million left on his contract. To be a value on that deal, Wiggins would have to be a bonafide star who makes the All-Star team annually.

To this point in his career, Wiggins hasn’t come close to sniffing an All-Star game. He has improved some this season, but it’s hard to be super excited about his potential. Wiggins ranks 248th in the league in real plus-minus and he’s a negative on the defensive end of the floor. Minnesota allows 5.6 more points per 100 possessions with Wiggins on the court. While he does score a lot, he does it inefficient. Wiggins scores 22.6 points per game, but has 52.1% true shooting. In a perfect world, the Wolves would shed Wiggins’ contract. In reality, there probably won’t be a taker.