Last offseason, the Minnesota Timberwolves made a huge splash by acquiring three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert, in a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz. However, the trade hasn't lived up to expectations, and with Karl-Anthony Towns' calf injury sidelining him for 52 games, most T-Wolves fans are understandably disappointed with the results of the 2022-23 season. The season concluded with a play-in tournament loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The pressure is now on GM Tim Connelly to re-tool for the next season. The mission to do so began at the NBA draft when Connelly acquired the 33rd overall pick from the San Antonio Spurs. With the T-Wolves' 2023 first-round pick going to the Jazz in the Gobert trade, securing the first pick in the second round was a shrewd move by Connelly. He selected Canadian Leonard Miller 33rd overall. Miller, at just nineteen years old, averaged 18 points per game in the G League last year.
But what other moves lie ahead? MinnesotaBets.com breaks from Minnesota sportsbooks updates to bring you the teams who trade with the Timberwolves most.
Minnesota Timberwolves Most Often Trade Partners
To figure that out, MinnesotaBets.com decided to use Basketball-Reference.com and determine which teams trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves most frequently. We also highlighted the most successful acquisition in the team's trade history with each of these teams.
Why The Timberwolves Love to Trade With These Teams
The Houston Rockets have made the most trades with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Of the ten total deals, Chase Budinger was rated as the top acquisition.
A standout at the University of Arizona, Budinger was selected as the 44th overall pick by the Pistons, but was almost immediately traded to Houston where he played from 2009 to 2012. That offseason he was traded to the Timberwolves.
Budinger appeared in 131 games with Minnesota, but started only 13, averaging just 7.2 PPG. In 2013, he signed a three-year $15 million dollar contract, but a series of injuries to his left knee stalled Budinger’s career — he played just 23 games during the 2012-13 season, and 41 games the following year.
In 2016, he left the NBA but has subsequently made a name for himself in the world of professional beach volleyball. Budinger is training to compete for the US Olympic team at the 2025 Summer Games in Paris.
The team that Memphis has traded with the second most is the Philadelphia 76ers, with the deal to acquire Scott Brooks in 1990 as the top addition.
An undersized Point Guard known for his defensive acumen, Brooks was not selected in the NBA draft but earned his way onto the 76ers in 1988. After playing for the Timberwolves from 1990 to 1992, Scott Brooks was traded to the Houston Rockets, where he would be part of the 1994 NBA Championship team.
When his playing career ended in 2000, Scott Brooks moved behind the bench, earning his first head coaching gig in 2008. In 12 seasons, with stints coaching the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Washington Wizard, Brooks has made 7 trips to the playoffs and owns a .557 career regular season record.
The T-Wolves have made seven trades with both the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz — but the 2008 trade for Kevin Love would prove to be one of the most significant moves in team history.
Coming off a one-year college stint where he led the UCLA Bruins to a final-four appearance and was named Pac-12 Player of the Year, Kevin Love was drafted fifth overall by the Memphis but was subsequently traded to the Timberwolves in a mega-draft night transaction.
In his six seasons playing for Minnesota, Love averaged 32.8 minutes per night in 264 games, putting up 19.2 PPG and 12.2 rebounds. He ranks fifth in all-time points scored for the Timberwolves, and third in all-time rebounds.
In 2014, Love was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers where he would make four appearances in the NBA Finals, winning a Championship in 2016 alongside teammates LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
After a series of injuries stalled his career, Kevin Love was released by Cleveland in February of this year. Two days later he signed a one-year contract with the Miami Heat, with whom he would make his fifth appearance in the NBA Finals.
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