MINNEAPOLIS — Shortly before the Timberwolves traded him to Charlotte last week, veteran point guard Mo Williams openly told reporters he’d been pondering his future every day.

Power forward Thaddeus Young, one of the next candidates to be dealt by Thursday’s trade deadline, is taking the opposite approach, keeping his head down and whatever future-based thoughts he’s entertained private.

"If it happens," Young said shortly before the All-Star break, "it happens, but at the end of the day, it’s about continuing to play basketball and doing the job that you’re supposed to go out and do."

The several-day circus leading up to the trade deadline tends to neglect the NBA’s human element, the one that had Williams, Gary Neal and Adreian Payne packing up their belongings at a moment’s notice in the past week or the idea of Young moving his wife and two sons — who wait for him outside the Wolves’ locker room after every home game — across the country for the second time this year. No matter how players handle it, though, the reality is they have to be ready.

Especially in a place like Minnesota, where the focus is entirely long-term.

"It’s part of the business; it’s going to happen," said Young, who played in Philadelphia for seven years before the Wolves landed him in the Kevin Love trade. "You’ve just got to prepare yourself for those types of situations."

Coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders says he and general manager Milt Newton aren’t aggressively pursuing further transactions, but they will listen to just about any propositions. When the price is deemed right, though, Saunders hasn’t been afraid to pull the trigger — he’s dealt Williams and fellow veteran Corey Brewer this season, engineered the Love trade that brought back Young, Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett, and did some draft-day bargaining in 2013 to acquire Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng.

Saunders has until 2 p.m. Thursday if he hopes to make any more moves.

"There’s a lot of talk prior to the last week on things," said Saunders, whose club carries a Western Conference-worst 11-42 mark into the season’s stretch run. "But we’re not actively out there pursuing anything. We’ll listen to people. We’d like to see these guys play together some and see how they play together, how they mesh together, and use these last 30 games to really evaluate where we’re at, what’s going to be needed in the offseason from both their development and what’s going to be needed through the draft or through free agency to take another step up with our franchise."

But that doesn’t guarantee inactivity between now and the end of the week.

Young makes a lot of sense for a team hoping to shore up its frontcourt depth. He has a player option on his contract for next year, so the Wolves wouldn’t mind getting something in return for him rather than seeing him opt out. After some early struggles, the 26-year-old has had a solid campaign, averaging 14.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.

Of course, if he’s still here at the end of the season, Young would be wise to opt into the $9.7 million 2015-16 season on his contract. He’d then hit free agency next summer when the league’s new, lucrative TV deal kicks in — which is expected to significantly boost salary scales.

Saunders traded away a lottery-protected first-round pick for Payne last week, so Minnesota has three power forwards on the roster at present.

"It gives us some protection," Saunders said.

And flexibility. In addition to the possibility of moving Young, Minnesota hasn’t been pleased with Bennett’s sluggish progression in the second year of his career. Despite improved health and stamina from his rookie season in Cleveland, the 2013 draft’s No. 1 overall pick hasn’t answered Saunders’ call to become more of a "dirty-work" player and thus has found himself on the bench for long stretches.

So if a team believed it could maximize Bennett’s potential someday, Saunders might be comfortable moving forward with Young and Payne — whom Saunders graded highly in the pre-draft process, heavily at the behest of friend and Payne’s coach at Michigan State, Tom Izzo — at the four spot.

Bennett is averaging 5.2 points on 42.1 percent shooting, 3.8 rebounds and 16 minutes per game in 52 appearances this season.

"We’ve tried so hard," Saunders said. "He’s got to find his niche and what his role really is. . . . I think right now, he tries to play out of his role a little bit too much at times."

Little-used forward Chase Budinger is another possibility, but it’s hard to envision much of a market for a niche 3-point shooter playing less than 15 minutes per game. Budinger’s missed significant time the past two seasons with knee issues and, now that he’s healthy, hasn’t had much of a role in Saunders’ offense.

He has a $5 million player option for next season.

Don’t count center Nikola Pekovic out of the trade talk, either. Despite the big man’s value, he still hasn’t proven he can stay healthy for long stretches. Backup Gorgui Dieng has been more than capable, and with a high lottery pick coming, Minnesota could well be in the Jahlil Okafor sweepstakes come June.

But after this season, Pekovic still has three years’ worth about $35.8 million left on his contract. That’s a lot to obtain for a man who’s missed at least 17 games each of his five NBA seasons.

Shooting guard Kevin Martin’s name comes up frequently in trade discussions, too, but it’d take an absolute jackpot to claw him away from Minnesota. A contender would seem to covet his scoring (20.2 points per game, 41.3 percent shooting in 18 games), but Saunders says Martin’s role in mentoring Wiggins, point guard Zach LaVine and the rest of the Wolves’ youngsters is too valuable to lose.

"I think he’s more valuable to us," Saunders said. "From our perspective, I have a lot of value on Kevin and what he can do and how he can help Wiggins and these other guys."

Among the manifold lessons for that young contingent has been things can change in a flash. For example, LaVine spent most of the year under Williams’ wing before the latter was traded.

Now, all the 19-year-old rookie will get from Williams is more minutes at the point guard spot.

"Mo was my guy," said LaVine, who won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday. "I hate to see him leave. That was my vet. So it’s unfortunate, but at the same time, we’ve got to move forward from it. People are going to have to step up.

"I’ve got to put my hard hat on and get to work."

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