Grade the Trade pitch: Raptors land All-Star from West favorite in 3-team blockbuster

Laying out the 3-team blockbuster trade

The Minnesota Timberwolves just finished the best season for the franchise in at least two decades. They were merely a win out of first in the Western Conference, upset the defending champions in the second round and reached the Western Conference Finals.

Things ended abruptly there as the Dallas Mavericks dispatched them in five games, but it was absolutely a major moment for the franchise. The problem, however, is that the Wolves are now extremely expensive in an era where teams are severely penalized for going over the second luxury tax apron. The Wolves, currently paying $107 million to their three centers, are well over that threshold.

If they get off to a rocky start to open up the year, the Wolves' only real path to reducing their payroll is to move on from either Rudy Gobert or Karl-Anthony Towns. Of the two, Towns is more expensive but much younger, and the Wolves already tried the Towns-at-center game. That could mean KAT is available for the right price on the trade market.

Enter the Toronto Raptors. Here is what a trade could look like, with the goal of reducing the Wolves' payroll now and moving forward. The Houston Rockets are pulled in as one of the teams likely to still be interested in Jakob Poeltl. Here is the deal in full:

The Houston Rockets would land a defensive difference-maker at center to pair with Alperen Sengun, something they have been searching for since last summer when they nearly signed Brook Lopez. Here they give up a good first and a future second along with the salaries of Steven Adams and Jae'Sean Tate for Poeltl and Ochai Agbaji; perhaps they can find a way to unlock Agbaji's potential.

The Minnesota Timberwolves likely want a blockbuster return for Towns, but his massive contract and lack of rim-protection ability as a center will slightly depress his market. Yet this is still an extremely valuable trade for them because all three of Brown, Adams and Tate are on expiring deals.

The Wolves get real depth for this year; they can plug either Brown or Tate into the starting lineup and all three players would be capable of playing rotation minutes. Next summer they could let all three walk in free agency and reduce their salary by over $50 million, or they could bring one or more back on newer, lower-cost deals. Bruce Brown in particular seems like he would be a valuable role player to keep around.

If the Wolves and Rockets are on board, is this a trade that the Raptors would make?