Report: Timberwolves expected to pursue Kevin Durant trade this offseason

There was very real buzz that the Timberwolves tried to trade for Suns superstar Kevin Durant prior to this February's deadline, but couldn't get a deal done. At the time, insiders suggested that those talks could be revisited over the summer. We've now reached that point. With the Wolves' season ending in the Western Conference Finals for the second straight year, new reports are emerging that they're expected to go after a potential Durant trade this summer.

This one is from Sam Amico's Hoops Wire:

"The Timberwolves need another 'alpha' next to Edwards to win it all, which is why sources told Hoops Wire that Minnesota is expected to pursue a Durant trade again this offseason."

That falls in line with what we've heard recently from ESPN's Brian Windhorst, who spoke recently about the seriousness of the Wolves' pre-deadline interest in Durant and noted that Minnesota president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, assuming he re-signs with the franchise, "is maybe going to go big-game hunting" this offseason.

Durant, who turns 37 in September, has one year left on his contract, with a cap hit of $54.7 million. The 15-time All-Star continued to play at a very high level in his 17th NBA season, averaging 26.6 points, 6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks on 53/43/84 shooting splits across 62 games.

Durant has a no-trade clause but is believed to have interest in playing for the Timberwolves. He has a strong relationship with Anthony Edwards, Minnesota's superstar guard who turns 24 this summer and played with Durant on last year's USA Olympics team.

It's unclear exactly what a KD-to-Minnesota trade might look like. There are lots of moving pieces on the Timberwolves' end, including player options for Julius Randle and Naz Reid. Both Minnesota and Phoenix were second-apron teams last season. It's possible it would need to be a trade involving more than just those two teams in order to make the salaries and values work.

The big question for Connelly is how much he's willing to part with to acquire Durant, who may eventually start to slow down due to age. To what degree will he speed up the Wolves' timeline as they look to get over the hump in the West? Is Jaden McDaniels viewed as off-limits?

It's going to be a fascinating summer. The key date to know might be June 25, which is when the NBA draft begins. Across the league, things could heat up quickly over the next four weeks.

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