Initial Thoughts on the Trade

First of all, let's state the obvious: there is literally no downside to what David Kahn and the Minnesota Timberwolves just pulled off.  None.  The team had sent numerous signals over the past year that they had little to no intention of resigning Corey Brewer (see Webster, Martell and Johnson, Wes) and they were able to move him a'la Randy Foye and Mike Miller for a usable asset.  These appear to be the (only) types of moves that Kahn excels at.  

What is remarkable about this deal is that it does two things that actually make sense in terms of actual basketball: Anthony Randolph has a track record of functional play (he even fits the awful term of "having potential") and the team has effectively rented out its cap space and still has enough flexibility to make additional moves with Eddie Curry's deal (and, for example, Sebastian Telfair or Jonny Flynn) before the trade deadline.  

Random thoughts:

• It will be very tempting to play into the "long and athletic" angle with Randolph.  It is true that he is both.  He also showed some signs of improvement in his first two years playing in an up-tempo style and was good enough to get invited to Team USA's summer camp (where he caught the eye of Tony Ronzone).  He's missed a lot of games over his career for one reason or another and he seems best fitted to play at the 4, but he seems to have enough talent to post numbers that are above and beyond what any non-Love or non-Beasley Timberwolf is capable of. 
• Randolph is 2 years younger than Wes Johnson.  This could be a very good and close-up example for those Wolves fans who still don't seem to get it of why age matters when picking college players.  It really, really, really matters.  
• It could also be a good example of what types of players actually possess high-level (and here's that word again) potential.  Think of player development like evolution and natural selection.  Players at this level are only able to develop with the skills and tools they already have.  Wanting Wes Johnson to develop into a slashing, high-usage modern shooting guard is like wishing for a turtle to develop a 5th leg.  Sorry, he just doesn't have the existing systems to make that dream happen.  On the other hand, Anthony Randolph has the types of tools that could make for an extremely high level player.  Elite size, athleticism, handle, an ability to get to the line, rebounding, and shot blocking.  These are things that can evolve into the upper levels of the NBA while giving the Wolves a player type they don't currently have.  This evolution is highly dependent on two things: Randolph's head (he's had some drive/motivation/whatever issues over his 3 years in the league) and the Wolves' player development.  You know, his environment. 
• With his awesome inability to make anything out of the draft, this is exactly the type of move that Wolves fans should be excited about with David Kahn.  Free agents aren't lining up to come here and this leaves trades and the draft as the main avenues for improvement.  So far, Kahn deserves an F- for his draft work and a B for his trades.  Michael Beasley and Anthony Randolph are home runs.  Darko and Martell are average. 2 A's or B+'s and 2 C's.  Too bad the team couldn't have better capitalized on its 6 first round draft picks (with 3 more on the way) during Kahn's tenure.  
• I know Corey Brewer isn't exactly the best player, but he was playing some solid ball this year (at least until Flynn started getting regular minutes again) and he was one of the few guys who tried to play defense and brought it to the arena each and every single night.  I think that counts for something and it will be missed. 
• It will be very interesting to see how Randolph is utilized in this lineup.  Where and when are they going to play him?  There are only so many minutes/night for Beasley, Webster, Johnson, and now Randolph.  This might require some (gasp) creativity from Kurt Rambis. 
• Eddie Curry is now the highest paid Timberwolf. 
• Do the Wolves now lead the league in lefty combo forwards? 
• The only two things that really get me about this trade are that a) it's not exactly the type of move anyone thought of when Kahn said "singular", and b) it looks as if the Wolves are going to not act upon the tail-end of the Al Jefferson trade's cap space.  That is kind of disappointing.  As mentioned above, this team needs to rely on the draft and trades to get players in the door.  They fail miserably in the draft and they do pretty well on the trade front.  They really need a high-usage perimeter player who can score.  There's still some time left before the trade deadline.  Here's hoping they can make the best of it. 

1- Trade for a high-usage guard before the trade deadline. 

Kevin Love is a very unique type of player.  He's the type of guy who produces a lot while not  playing the role of a go-to guy.  He's not that guy.  Throw in his work on the boards, his ability to run the pick and roll, and his awesome three point shooting, and you have a top shelf player who is just screaming to be placed next to a high-usage perimeter player.  Could Beasley be that guy?  I'll address that in a bit, but Love needs to play next to a guy who can handle the ball as a go-to scorer with an insanely high usage rate.  Who could play this role?

• Stephen Curry- The less said about this player, the better.  I don't think I need to go into why he'd be a good fit here.  It was obvious before the 2009 Draft and it's just as obvious now. Take a quick gander at what Kevin Love did during the last 1/2 of his rookie season.  I'm sure the team had access to what he was able to do in pick and pop and pick and roll situations.  These two players were meant to play with one another and it's sad that it never happened and probably never will.  
  
• Kevin Martin-  Probably the next most perfect companion for Kevin Love.  Think of everything Wes Johnson is, imagine the opposite, and there you go.  OK, that's kind of harsh.  Martin is carrying close to a 30% usage rate right now while having a, wait for it, a .606% TS%.  He also carries a 10.2% TO%.  Everything the Wolves could possibly want in a Kevin Love sidekick lives down in Houston, TX and he's probably unattainable.  Still, guys who can handle the ball at a high clip, not turn it over, get to the line (he averages more per game than Wes Johnson attempted in December and, thus far, in February), and hits a high percentage of his shots are the type of player  you want to put next to Kevin Love.  
• Monta Ellis-  A big contract and not quite as ideal for the job as Mr. Martin or Mr. Curry, but Ellis fits the mold of a perimeter player who can handle the ball with a huge usage rate while being able to score at a somewhat efficient rate.  Actually, that's not completely true.  He's a volume scorer who is averaging less than a point/play.  However, the type of players who fit the bill we're looking for don't grow on trees and he's one of the better ones.  The big concern about Ellis is the massive number of minutes he's logging after an injury in Golden State.  He led the league last year in mpg and he's at the top once again. He also has a fairly decent ast%/to% rate considering his high usage rate and the pace of play in the bay.  
• Nick Young- OK, now we're getting into silly territory.  Young's price tag is probably much lower than any of the players listed so far but he also isn't nearly as good of a player as the players listed so far.  That being said, he does have some promise.  In a broad sense of what we're looking for with a Lovekick, Young has a .548 TS% from the perimeter, an ok usage rate (24.6%), very low turnover rate (7.7%), and he averages over a point/play.  He would be kind of a long shot for this role, as he would need to up his offensive load while maintaining his efficiency, but it's food for thought.  After all, this is a post trying to be realistic with what the Wolves can do and a player like Young is right in Kahn and Taylor's wheelhouse: cheap and with risk. Hooray!
• Devin Harris- Do you know that Harris has played 64, 69, and 64 games over his last 3 years?  He's also 27. Did I mention we're in silly territory?  Anywho, Harris used to be a very nice player.  Then he got injured.  Still, if he could get back to the player he was (gigantic if), he's kind-of-sort-of-if-you-really-squint the player that would look nice next to Kevin Love.  Let's head off to complete gamble territory...
• Rodrigue Beaubois- Currently injured, but he put up awesome, awesome, awesome numbers in his first year in the league and they were kind of the types of numbers we're looking for: usage rate near 25% (not high enough for our purposes, but we're in gamble territory), a TS over 60%....he also played 12 1/2 minutes a game.  Again, gambles and he probably can't maintain the huge usage rate while being a scorer, but...well, Stephen Curry was there for the taking.  Damn.