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Nell Redmond/Associated Press

Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: Nicolas Batum, 2020 second-round pick (via Cleveland Cavaliers)

Charlotte Hornets Receive: Andrew Wiggins

One of two things must happen for Minnesota to turn things around. Either Andrew Wiggins rights the ship—he has a bottom-20 box plus/minus since arriving as 2014's top pick—or the Wolves ditch the $122.2 million owed to him over the next four seasons.

Before assuming the latter is a lost cause, think again. One executive predicted to ESPN's Zach Lowe "that not only will Minnesota succeed at dealing Wiggins at some point, but that they will get at least net-neutral value for him."

In other words, the Wolves might be able to move this money without sacrificing assets to do so.



Minnesota, of course, must take back another bloated contract—in this case, the two years and $52.7 million owed to Nicolas Batum, a 30-year-old who posted a single-digit scoring average last season. But if the Wolves can look beyond his lack of assertiveness, they could see value in his two-way versatility.

The major motivation is contract length, as the Wolves would erase their massive overpay two years earlier and have enough flexibility to join the 2021 free-agent race. That class is loaded, and while the Gopher State has never been a major destination, maybe two more dominant seasons from Towns could convince a second star to join him.

As for the Hornets, they gain a clearer post-Kemba Walker direction. The 24-year-old is young and toolsy enough that a down-on-its-luck franchise might still view him as a possible building block. The four years left on his contract would give Charlotte ample time to see what it might have in him, Terry Rozier, Malik Monk, PJ Washington and Miles Bridges.