Gersson Rosas made no secret when he took the job as Timberwolves president that the primary way he was going to restructure the Wolves was through trades.
Minnesota has never been a free-agent destination in the NBA, and Rosas wasn't naive enough to think he could change that overnight for big-ticket players. Instead, trades, the way Rosas' former team in Houston became a contender in landing James Harden, were going to drive the roster overhaul.
D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Juancho Hernangomez, Ricky Rubio and Jarred Vanderbilt all came to the Wolves via trade, and the draft pick that eventually turned into Jaden McDaniels also came in a trade.
The March 25 trade deadline is nearing, and reports are circulating of the Wolves' reported interest in Atlanta's John Collins and, to a lesser extent, Orlando's Aaron Gordon. Hall of Fame NBA reporter Jackie MacMullan said on Bill Simmons' podcast recently that she heard from sources the Wolves were "dying" to get Collins.
Just as Rosas made clear trades were the primary way he was going to reshape the roster and then followed up on that, when reports have emerged about Rosas' pursuit of a given target, fire typically has followed the smoke.
The Wolves never gave up on their pursuit of Russell, and their interest both in the 2019 offseason and before the February 2020 trade deadline was public knowledge. Even as reports varied about the state of negotiations in the days leading to the trade, in the end the Wolves dealt Andrew Wiggins and a first-round pick for Russell.
Before Robert Covington was traded, it was an open secret the Wolves were shopping him, as some national writers strongly hinted in the days leading up to the four-team gargantuan trade that netted the Wolves Beasley, Hernangomez, Vanderbilt and a draft pick.
Now the same dance seems to be happening with Collins, who will be a restricted free agent after the season but is reportedly looking for a max contract.
