2 Timberwolves on hottest trade candidate seats entering 2026-27 NBA training camp

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The Minnesota Timberwolves‘ roster for the 2026-27 season appears to be set following their recent move for forward Jonathan Kuminga. Kuminga appears to be the final piece of the puzzle for this Timberwolves team that the front office overhauled earlier this offseason when they acquired LaMelo Ball from the Charlotte Hornets for a package headlined by former Sixth Man of the Year, Naz Reid.

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Minnesota is rolling into next season with a (presumed) starting lineup of Anthony Edwards, Ball, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, and Kuminga. On some nights, it might be Ayo Dosunmu who starts in place of Kuminga. Whatever the case may be, Minnesota has gone all-in on a fast-paced style of play after trading away two of their lumbering big men in Reid and Julius Randle, and it remains to be seen if this gambit of theirs works out.

However, with Reid and Randle no longer on the roster, the Timberwolves roster has some significant question marks in the frontcourt. They are banking on Joan Beringer to emerge as a legitimate contributor off the bench as Gobert’s backup, and they expect Trey Lyles, after a season in Europe, to provide toughness and some shooting off the bench as well.

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But if the Timberwolves end up needing more frontcourt help than they expect, perhaps they can trade away these two players.

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It’s not a secret whatsoever that the Timberwolves organization is a big fan of Donte DiVincenzo. He was one of the main reasons why they were comfortable with pulling the trigger on the trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks. Randle may have been Towns’ replacement at power forward, but they believed that DiVincenzo’s marksmanship from beyond the arc would help make up for whatever spacing they lost with Towns’ departure.

DiVincenzo remains one of the best volume marksmen from beyond the arc in the NBA. Last season, he played in all 82 games, starting in all of them, and he made 244 total triples — good for sixth-best in the league.

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But with Ball now on the roster, DiVincenzo has become a less important piece for the team. Ball finished last season with 272 made triples, the second-best tally in the NBA, and there is no way DiVincenzo is bumping him off from the starting lineup.

Moreover, it’s not quite clear when DiVincenzo will be returning to the active roster anyway. The 29-year-old guard tore his Achilles in Game 4 of the Timberwolves’ first-round clash against the Denver Nuggets, and it makes sense for him to miss the entirety of the 2026-27 season as he recovers from this injury.

Damian Lillard tore his Achilles on April 27, 2025, and he proceeded to miss the entirety of the 2025-26 campaign. Tyrese Haliburton also suffered the same injury in June 2025, and he also missed over a year.

For guards who rely more on their burst, it makes sense for them to take the entire year off. Not everyone can be physical anomalies like Jayson Tatum, who returned from his ruptured Achilles less than a year after he suffered that injury.

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It’s not even a matter of age. Lillard may be 36 years old, so he needs more time to make sure that he’s fully recovered before he returns to action; however, Haliburton is only 26, younger than DiVincenzo, and he still needed to take more than 12 months off.

DiVincenzo is now in the final year of his contract with the Timberwolves, making $12.5 million. That is a steal for a shooter of DiVincenzo’s caliber, as he commands so much respect even though he went through slumps at multiple points of last season.

However, if he’s not going to suit up for the Timberwolves this year, then Minnesota could trade him away should they need some frontcourt reinforcements.

Nonetheless, it makes sense for the Timberwolves to keep him anyway even if he doesn’t suit up for a single minute this season. Beyond being a beloved member of the locker room, keeping him means that Minnesota also keeps his Bird rights. This makes it easier for Minnesota to keep DiVincenzo for the 2027-28 season and beyond. It also shows DiVincenzo that the franchise is truly invested in him and his recovery.

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If the Timberwolves trade him away, the only way they can sign DiVincenzo would be to sign him on the taxpayer mid-level exception. Many other teams can outbid them by then.

But at the end of the day, Minnesota has a huge decision to make with DiVincenzo, making him an interesting trade candidate with training camp looming.

The Timberwolves, in the process of signing Kuminga, had to clear some space under the second apron. To that end, they dumped the salary of Josh Green to the Utah Jazz in exchange for former 10th overall pick Cody Williams and John Konchar — with Konchar getting waived.

With the Timberwolves needing more size on the wings, taking a flier on Williams was certainly a smart choice. Williams averaged 20.4 points in five Summer League games earlier this year, and he shot 34.2 percent from three on nearly eight attempts per contest during those games — showing major improvements.

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At only 22 years of age, the Timberwolves are at least hoping that they can bring out the best in the former top-10 pick. They can afford to give him a few minutes, and he has a chance to impress the coaching staff when training camp begins on the 29th of September.

However, Williams is making $6.1 million this year, and the Timberwolves hold a team option worth $7.7 million for the 2027-28 season. That is not a significant commitment whatsoever. But Minnesota is sitting dangerously close to the second apron. With a total of $217.1 million committed to this season’s roster, they are operating just $4.6 million below that dreaded second apron.

If Williams does not impress, no one should be surprised if the Timberwolves shop him around to save on some luxury tax payments. They have the likes of Terrence Shannon Jr. and Jaylen Clark to give the team minutes on the wing from the bench anyway, and Kuminga’s arrival makes it so that Williams shouldn’t be a very important player for Minnesota heading into next season.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com