Timberwolves trade proposal to Clippers teams up James Harden with Anthony Edwards

Considering how the 2025-26 season has gone thus far for the Minnesota Timberwolves, one would think that they’re somehow languishing with a below .500 record. But even with loud defeats and embarrassing choke jobs, the Timberwolves are 14-8 on the season and look very much primed to contend in the West and defend their status as a Western Conference finalist.

However, it’s no secret that the Timberwolves are at least exploring the trade market, preferably for a point guard. According to reports, they have been kicking the tires on a potential trade for Ja Morant, the embattled and enigmatic Memphis Grizzlies floor general — perhaps capitalizing on the fact that Morant’s trade value is at its nadir amid his frustrations with his situation in Beale Street.

But the Timberwolves aren’t without their options on the market, so they may prefer to find an alternative to Morant. To that end, someone like James Harden could end up being available amid the Los Angeles Clippers’ mess, if ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel’s report is any indication.

The Clippers recently sent Chris Paul home in a shocking move amid his retirement tour in the team he’s most known for. And it looks like there is a possibility that LA just blows it all up and starts over even though they owe their 2026 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder in unprotected fashion.

Harden certainly ups the Timberwolves’ ceiling as a playoff contender, and he also makes them a more consistent regular season team. But will Minnesota be willing to trade what it takes to acquire the Clippers star?

Here is the trade package the Timberwolves must consider sending LA in exchange for The Beard.

Timberwolves finally address their point guard woes

Timberwolves trade: Julius Randle, Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, two second-round picks

Clippers trade: James Harden, Nicolas Batum

This trade is an admission that the Timberwolves’ gamble for Rob Dillingham in the 2024 NBA Draft was a miscalculation. Minnesota, amid their shortage of trade assets, decided to gamble away their 2030 first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs to acquire the draft rights to Dillingham — clearly preparing for the future beyond Mike Conley.

Now, the post-Conley future is here, and Dillingham isn’t yet ready for starting point guard duties. It’s not even clear if he’s ready for a rotation role. He’s undersized, he’s a below-average defender, and he doesn’t quite impact the game offensively at a high enough level for the Timberwolves to live with the other deficiencies of his game.

Dillingham is only 20 years of age, however, and learning how to be a point guard in the NBA can be difficult. Even someone like Darius Garland or Jamal Murray needed some time to marinate before they became two of the best floor generals in the league.

Anthony Edwards is only 24 years of age, while Jaden McDaniels is 25, so it’s not like the clock is ticking that urgently for the Timberwolves. Logic would dictate that they should at least give Dillingham one more season to develop, but he’s looked so far away from contributing meaningfully on a consistent basis that it might be time to cut him loose while others still view him as someone with potential.

Edwards, despite making strides as a playmaker, is not a primary ballhandler, and he’s been overtaxed sometimes in carrying the burden the Timberwolves are asking of him. But having Harden around would make things so much easier for Edwards, as he need not initiate the offense on nearly every possession.

Harden may be 36 years old, but he’s still one of the best scoring playmakers in the league. At this point of his career, he most certainly would want to take a backseat, but the Clippers’ predicament is forcing him to put up herculean numbers just for LA to get a shot at victory.

Edwards would allow him to be the primary orchestrator, relieving him of duties as primary scorer as well. This should free Harden up to be more of a contributor defensively, and they should also get the best out of their big men, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid, with Harden setting the table for them.

The huge loss for the Timberwolves would be Randle. Randle has been quite good this year, averaging 22.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per contest. But a floor general, Randle is not. Randle has had his fair share of poor moments in the clutch, which is another reason as to why the Timberwolves need a true point guard to set things up for them in close games.

Randle is instrumental, however, to the Timberwolves’ bully-ball identity. They bludgeoned the Los Angeles Lakers on the glass in last year’s playoffs, and Randle is a mismatch problem for most forwards in the association. But the Timberwolves have Naz Reid anyway to take over at power forward, which makes losing Randle sting that much less.

This would sever the Timberwolves’ frontcourt depth, which is why acquiring Nicolas Batum will also be important in this transaction. Batum is far from his best, and he’s one step closer to retirement with each passing day, but he can at least defend bigger forwards and some wings while providing some spacing and rim protection.

It helps as well that Batum is familiar with Gobert, being French compatriots, which should make any transition for Batum easier especially when he wants to retire in LA under the tutelage of head coach Tyronn Lue.

The Clippers would want to keep Batum, but at this point, the 6’8″ forward may want a chance to compete for a title. Minnesota would be able to give Batum that chance.

Minnesota could also target Paul in a trade, but that’s old guard overkill at this point. The Timberwolves will still have Conley anyway in the aftermath of this hypothetical trade, so the spot for old floor generals who’re primarily just serving as a mentor at this point is already taken.

Considering how productive Harden remains, adding a few second-round picks to further sweeten the deal should not be a problem for the Timberwolves. Leonard Miller could also be a bit of a project for the Clippers.

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