Earlier today word broke of the Spurs trade for Jefferson, and now the dominoes are falling. SI is reporting that the Timberwolves are sending Randy Foye and Mike Miller to the Wizards for Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila, Oleksiy Pecherov, and the #5 pick in this week’s draft.
This gives Washington a very nice backcourt to play with, although sending Etan Thomas away could come back to bite them in the playoffs.
More interesting is what Minnesota gets. Thomas is an underrated defender on the block, and rotating him in with Jefferson and Love creates a powerful rebounding force for the Wolves. However, this decimates their backcourt, which is fine. This year features a draft rich in point guards and nothing else, and Minnesota now holds picks 5 and 6, 18, and 28. That’s potentially 4 picks in the first round, but more likely 3, as it seems likely 2 of them will be packaged to move up and grab Ricky Rubio.
Minnesota looks to be a team rich with potential and very short on leadership. This might open the door for a team like San Antonio to work a trade. Perhaps some combination of Finley, Mason, and a second round pick for either the 18th or 28th pick, or maybe Thomas, as we now have a front court that badly needs to be shored up.
The offseason is picking up steam with another full day before the draft.
