Why the Timberwolves aren't a likely trade destination for Trae Young

Trae Young's time with the Atlanta Hawks appears to be coming to an end, with a trade expected at some point before the February 5 deadline. Both Young's representatives and the Hawks have reportedly acknowledged that a split makes sense and are working to get a deal done.

At first glance, the Minnesota Timberwolves might seem like a logical destination for Young, who has made four All-Star teams and is in the heart of his prime at 27 years old. The Wolves have a need at point guard and possess the defensive personnel to insulate Young's shortcomings on that end of the floor. On paper, Young and Anthony Edwards would be quite the backcourt duo, while Young and Rudy Gobert could form a lethal pick-and-roll partnership.

However, when you dive into the details a bit more, the idea largely falls apart.

There are multiple reasons why Young ultimately makes little sense for the Wolves, but the most glaring is the financial element. On his max contract, Young is making just shy of $46 million this season and has a player option for just shy of $49 million next season. And as a team over the first apron, the Wolves can't take on more salary in a trade than they send out. So on the most basic level, they'd have to put together a $46 million package in order to acquire Young from the Hawks.

Julius Randle, who is probably the most logical trade piece for the Wolves, is making nearly $31 million. That still leaves another $15 million needed. To get there, Minnesota would have to throw in someone like Donte DiVincenzo ($11.9M) or Mike Conley ($10.7M), as well as Rob Dillingham ($6.5M) or two minimum contracts. That's at least a 3-for-1 deal that would be a blow to the Wolves' depth, which is already somewhat of an issue.

Tim Connelly is one of the most aggressive GMs so you can never completely rule him out on something like this. But all the money involved and what the Wolves would have to give up to make it work just makes it really, really difficult. https://t.co/DsH1hpvVj1
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) January 6, 2026

If the Timberwolves really wanted Young, maybe they'd be willing to part with a Randle/Conley/Dillingham package, given that they'd be consolidating at the point guard position and could move Naz Reid into Randle's starting spot at power forward. The bench would be an issue, but perhaps Leonard Miller or Joan Beringer could be viable rotation options. There might also be three-team trade possibilities involving Young coming to Minnesota that could make more financial sense.

But that brings us to the next point, which is that Young might not be a great fit for the Timberwolves from a pure basketball standpoint. As mentioned, he's a below-average defender with clear athletic limitations on that end. And although he puts up eye-popping box score numbers (he averages 25 points and 10 assists per game for his career), he's not particularly efficient. Young is a career 43 percent shooter from the field and a 35 percent shooter from long range. He's been at 34 percent or worse from beyond the arc in three of the last four seasons.

How much Young actually drives winning is a serious question. He did lead the Hawks to the conference finals in 2021, but that's now a long time ago. This season, Atlanta has been far more successful when Young hasn't played, which is part of the reason why a divorce is inevitable. Young at $46 million might not help the Wolves more than Randle does for $31 million, to say nothing of the other pieces Minnesota would have to give up to make a trade work.

Additionally, Young is someone who has always operated as a high usage lead ball-handler, and the Wolves already have one of those in Anthony Edwards. Young isn't great at playing off of the ball, so the fit with Ant might not make much sense.

"I also don’t like the idea of taking the ball out of Anthony Edwards’ hands, given how successful he’s been in the playoffs," The Athletic's Sam Vecenie wrote this week when discussing landing spots for Young. "Minnesota’s best bet at the point guard position remains someone who can play both on and off the ball."

Given Tim Connelly's history of taking big swings on the trade market, the idea of Young landing in Minnesota can't be ruled out entirely. According to Mike Scotto of HoopsHype, the Wolves are among the teams monitoring his situation in Atlanta.

But for all of the reasons we've mentioned, it would be a massive surprise if Young ultimately winds up as the Timberwolves' new point guard. He seems destined to go somewhere like Washington in a salary dump type of trade, while Connelly makes a less splashy move to add a cheaper rotational player who can handle the ball.

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