New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Proposal Sends Lauri Markkanen to Wolves, Hawks Get Backup PG

If they're unable to land Kevin Durant, could the Wolves make a big push for Lauri Markkanen and send out their veteran point guard in the process?

Mar 16, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) shoots the ball over Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) in the second half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

After being eliminated by the OKC Thunder in a blowout Game 5 loss, the Minnesota Timberwolves have become one of the most interesting teams of the offseason. They are reportedly trying to make a big trade for Kevin Durant, but it seems that the Suns star has rebuffed them and doesn't have any desire to be in Minnesota long-term per ESPN's Shams Charania. The Timberwolves have to make a decision on the future of Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who is due for an extension, while also negotiating an extension for center Naz Reid and planning for an impending Julius Randle decision on his $30 million player option for next season. It is extremely likely that Minnesota will lose one of the three this summer - the question is how the Wolves plan to fill that loss.

If Randle is not interested in staying with the Timberwolves, but cannot get the long-term offer he wants on the open market, then he can pick up his player option and work with the team to find a trade destination. He had a solid showing for Minnesota throughout their run and there should be interest in the former All-NBA forward. Furthermore, the Timberwolves are right below the first apron line of the salary cap and only have around $13 million dollars to work with before they are in the dreaded second apron. Therefore, it would make sense to explore moving on from Randle.

One possible replacement for Randle is Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen. Markkanen was one of the most coveted players in the NBA last offseason before he signed a five-year, $238 million dollar extension with the Utah Jazz. However, a down season last year and the Jazz still not having any sure-fire prospects that they can take into their future could motivate them to capitalize on his value and trade him this offseason. Minnesota is a candidate to make that move if they do not land Kevin Durant. These front offices are no stranger to working together (see: Rudy Gobert trade) and they have a plausible salary replacement for Markkanen in Randle on a sign-and-trade.

However, the Timberwolves are working within very tight salary constraints and any deal to acquire Markkanen would likely need a third team involved in order to take on remaining salary. The Hawks could be that third team. Atlanta has a ton of financial flexibility this summer, which they can use to address their needs at interior defense, front court depth, shooting, and maybe a backup lead guard/ball handler. NBA insider Marc Stein has already reported that Atlanta could also look to be facilitators this summer in the trade market due to their financial flexibility, depending on if the team brings back any of Caris LeVert, Clint Capela, or Larry Nance.

Given the needs of all three teams, what would a trade between them look like? Here is one possible framework for a deal.

It should be noted that this is just a speculative and fun exercise to see what kind of moves can be made, not what I think the Hawks or any other teams should do or will do. That is all.

Atlanta Hawks Receive: Mike Conley, 2028 1st round pick swap (via MIN)

Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: Lauri Markkanen, Mo Gueye, 2025 2nd round pick (via DAL, from UTA, #43), 2025 2nd round pick (via LAC, from UTA, #53)

Utah Jazz Receive: Julius Randle (S&T, 3 YR, $112.5M), Donte DiVincenzo, 2025 1st round pick (via MIN, #17)

Why the Hawks would do this trade: Conley has plenty of familiarity with Hawks head coach Quin Snyder from their days in Utah together, so he should be able to fit into Atlanta's offense rather easily. He may seem like an odd fit for a team that already has Trae Young, but he's a reliable ball-handler that can run the offense when Young sits. That holds value because Trae has had to shoulder such an extensive load for Atlanta. He still remains a great shooter from deep, hitting 41% of his threes on 4.4 attempts per game. Furthermore, the Hawks also get a first-round pick swap in 2028, which could be beneficial towards their team-building process. There is also little long-term risk because he is an expiring contract for this season.

Why the Hawks would not do this trade: Conley's 37 years old and his shooting numbers from within three-point range have declined sharply from last season to this one. He's very easy to target on defense and the Hawks already don't have a great defense.

Why the Timberwolves would do this trade: Markkanen was one of the most desirable players after the 2023-24 season due to a fantastic season where he averaged 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds on 63% TS, 40% from three on eight attempts per game and 41.4 percent on catch-and-shoot threes. His down season last year still yielded 19 points and 5.9 rebounds on 42.3/34.6/87.6 shooting splits despite struggling with injuries for most of the year. He's a massive wing who can line up at either SF or PF, firmly in his prime at 28 years old and he's already signed for the next four seasons. He isn't a great defender or especially strong ball-handler, but there's reason to believe he can be a better defender when flanked by Jaden McDaniels and covered by Rudy Gobert. The Timberwolves are also giving up very little to make the deal happen, only surrendering one first-round pick and a shooter who struggled to make a consistent impact in the playoffs. Gueye is an interesting development project - he showed exciting defensive chops last season in Atlanta. He posted a BLK% of 3.3% (87th percentile) and a STL% of 2.3% (96th percentile). Gueye needs to cut down on fouls, but there's a chance he could develop into a nice backup big man who can slide in at either the 4 or 5 as a standout defender.

Why the Timberwolves would not do this deal: While Markkanen profiles as the better shooter, Randle is a much better defender due to his strength. He's already taken on tough matchups like LeBron James and Luka Doncic with success and it's hard to say how Markkanen would fare in that situation considering he wasn't a great defender in Utah and he's never played in the postseason. Gueye is still developing and may not be reliable enough for a significant workload in the regular season/playoffs.

Why the Jazz would do this deal: Randle is a veteran PF who can slide into Markkanen's role and serve as the leader of a rebuilding Jazz team with some similarities to the young Knicks team he was on earlier in his career. He'd be on a much cheaper contract than Markkanen and there's no risk of him accelerating their development timeline. As the second scoring option in Minnesota this year, he averaged 18.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists on 59.3 TS%, He isn't a true floor spacer (34.4% on 4.6 attempts per game), but he's viable enough as a shooter to possibly play with John Collins and keep Walker Kessler at the 5. DiVincenzo has been one of the better high-volume shooters from deep in the NBA over the past three seasons. In 2024-25, he shot 39.7% from deep on 7.1 attempts per game and posted an above-average TS% of 58.2%. DiVincenzo isn't entirely one-dimensional either - he posted a career-high AST% of 20.2% and took on more facilitation duties than he did in his previous roles. Given that he is on a fairly tradeable contract, he could be flipped again for picks if he has a strong season with Utah.

Why the Jazz would not do this deal: It's possible that Randle and DiVicenzo might block the development of prospects like Taylor Hendricks and Keyonte George, respectively. Utah needs to see what it has in its young group of prospects and adding two veterans when they are already trying to offload Collin Sexton and John Collins could be too much to handle.

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