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Minnesota Timberwolves *Almost* All In on Kevin Durant…
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- Minnesota Timberwolves *Almost* All In on Kevin Durant…
Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
At this point, any sports fan with an internet connection or live TV subscription is well aware of the fact that Phoenix is shopping Kevin Durant and that the Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the teams in pursuit of the 36-year-old 10x All-NBA superstar.
And after things quieted down between the Wolves and Durant over the past couple weeks, they quickly picked up again on Wednesday when reports broke that Minnesota was once again one of the main pursuers of KD, along with the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets , with others also in the mix.
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Confirmed: Minnesota Timberwolves want Kevin Durant badly
But on Thursday, Darren "Doogie" Wolfson (KSTP) went on the Mackey & Judd show for his regular Thursday Scoops appearance, where he noted that the Minnesota Timberwolves are more than flirting with Durant. He described it as "a love fest" and said that the Wolves are very much in on the KD bidding war.
"It's absolutely more than a flirtation, however you want to describe it. 'Love fest', 'affair', I don't know how you exactly want to term it, but the Wolves are very much in on Kevin Durant."
"This morning somebody who is very plugged in whose professional livelihood is working in the game maybe not necessarily firsthand with all this stuff but has his finger on the pulse of a lot of what's happening in the league…he texted me this morning. I will read it verbatim. 'I'm hearing Minnesota is very much in play for Kevin Durant'."
Last season, Kevin Durant was his same old self, even at his ever-advancing age, averaging 26.6 points, 6 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 36.5 minutes per game. Everyone is well aware of how much Anthony Edwards looks up to Durant and how close the two became when they played together for Team USA last summer.
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But while Doogie starts off his KD talk hot, proclaiming that the Wolves are all in on their pursuit of the 17-year veteran out of Texas, he goes on to make it clear that there is one player beyond Ant and Naz Reid who Minnesota is not willing to part with via Kevin Durant trade, in any Kevin Durant
Wolves are not interested in trading away Jaden McDaniels for KD
According to the longtime local insider, the Timberwolves have not (and will not) put the 24-year-old "Slim Reaper" Jaden McDaniels on the table in talks with the Suns . Others, including a combination of Rudy Gobert , Donte DiVincenzo , Rob Dillingham and Terrance Shannon Jr are all in the conversations.
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The 2020 1st round pick out of Washington averaged 12.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2 assists per game in 2024-25, while asserting himself again as one of the best wing defenders in the league.
"If Rudy is the money to help make this work, I think you have to do it. Now, if you're running the Suns front office, aren't you asking for Terren Shannon Jr or is it Rob Dillingham going out and you're able to keep Shannon Jr. Is that the idea?
But I have yet to hear that Jaden McDaniels is on the table [in talks with Phoenix]…if somehow Milwaukee made Giannis available, okay you put Jaden on the table. I think a lot of people understand that you're not putting Jaden on the table in a Kevin Durant trade.
So if KD ends up in Houston or San Antonio or somewhere else, fine so be it. I'd be okay with that. I'm not giving up Jaden. More importantly, I have zero sense the Wolves would give up Jaden McDaniels."
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