Fantasy basketball impact of Timberwolves’ trade moves

The Minnesota Timberwolves pulled the trigger on deal Tuesday, ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline. They were part of a four-team trade that saw 12 players moved. The arrangement included Minnesota, the Houston Rockets, the Denver Broncos, and the Atlanta Hawks.

The Timberwolves (15-34) are far from playoff contention and haven’t acquired what they’ve been pursuing most — a point guard. Let’s take a look at how this trade should affect fantasy basketball.

Fantasy basketball analysis: How the trade affects Minnesota

The Timberwolves have been in pursuit of the Golden State Warriors’ D’Angelo Russell and might be willing to send Andrew Wiggins to the Bay Area in order to make that happen. In the meantime, they sent their starting point guard Shabazz Napier, Keita Bates-Diop, and Noah Vonleh to Denver. Minnesota got Malik Beasley, Juancho Hernangomez, and Jarred Vanderbilt from the Nuggets. It also acquired Evan Turner from the hawks. Robert Covington was sent to the Rockets, so there will be plenty of minutes available on the wing.

Beasley is a strong candidate to assume Minnesota’s starting shooting guard spot, as the team is very thin there. Hernangomez is a significant upgrade from any player the Timberwolves had at power forward. He’s a better option than Gorgui Dieng or Naz Reid. Both Beasley and Hernangomez should see significant fantasy bumps — especially if Wiggins is moved.