Howlin' T-Wolf

Yahoo! Sports is now reporting that a trade has been completed sending Al Jefferson to the Utah Jazz for two first round picks (One is from Memphis and is heavily protected) and the trade exception that the Jazz acquired via the Boozer sign-and-trade.

Chad Ford just tweeted that the deal could work for both sides, but it all depends on what the Wolves plan to do with the TPE they acquire.

Jefferson deal is a very good one for Utah. TBD for Wolves. Depends on what they do with the $13M TPE. $16M for Ridnour a shaky start

Well now that things are finished, let’s discuss.

We all knew that the NBA Draft wasn’t the end of the offseason. And we all knew that Al Jefferson would be traded this offseason. Now it seems as if David Kahn will have to do some serious wheeling and dealing to make up for the loss of Al Jefferson, as he heads to a division rival.

The trade makes perfect sense…for the Jazz. They lost Boozer to free agency when he left for Chicago, leaving a giant void in Utah’s front court. They thought they would suffice with Millsap, but now an addition of Big Al will only help their low post scoring immensely. Him and Millsap splitting minutes could be a great tandem in the front court and having Mehmet Okur, when he comes back, spread the floor with his range will open things up underneath for Big Al to work.

The Jazz have serious options now. A pick-and-pop game with Deron Williams and Millsap or Okur. A low-post game with Big Al. A set of nice wing players in Gordon Hayward and Wesley Matthews if they match his offer from the Blazers. The Jazz patched up their wound created by Boozer and will be atop the Western Conference next year.

As for the Wolves, this trade now heavily relies on David Kahn’s shoulders. We now have $14 million to spend via TPE from the Jazz. Sources say that $4 million of it could be gone very soon, as the Wolves are now negotiating with Luke Ridnour for 4 years $16 million. That may not be the wisest purchase but, to me, it just seems like the dawning of a series of moves that Kahn hopes to pull off and improve this team.

Grabbing Ridnour with the TPE means a point guard is going to be traded. Whether it’s Ramon Sessions or Jonny Flynn, the Wolves will have to make room for Ridnour if he signs. The remainder of the TPE could then be used on incoming deals all year long. The Wolves could very well target Rudy Fernandez of the Blazers as their prize of any trade involving one of our point guards. Fernandez is a Spaniard and friend of Ricky Rubio; the two could coincide on the court beautifully at the Target Center like they did in Spain’s Olympic run.

The next T-Wolf that could be on the block after trading a point guard is Corey Brewer. The contender for last year’s MIP award is now lost amidst the Wolves’ original transactions that brought Martell Webster and Wes Johnson to Minny. Brewer now finds himself a role off the bench and if Fernandez is apart of the Wolves’ future plans, Brewer’s name could be just a distant memory.

A lot of things could and are going to happen in the remainder of this offseason. I’ll continue to cover more as we go on and hope to bring more analysis of this trade as details pour in.