Ever since Minnesota Timberwolves Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations Tom Thibodeau said to the media that he's willing to trade one of his young stars in favor of a veteran player to help the team win right now, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been mentioned constantly in NBA trade rumors. Tom Thibodeau also added that if ever a deal is in the works, he would prefer to acquire one of his former players from the Chicago Bulls since he wants a player that's already familiar with his system. One player in particular would be the Los Angeles Lakers small forward Luol Deng.
Luol Deng has already been mentioned in previous trade rumors to be headed to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Zach LaVine and Shabbaz Muhammad. The latest trade rumor this time involves small forward Rudy Gay of the Sacramento Kings and point guard Ricky Rubio of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In recent NBA trade rumors, there are talk of a possible trade involving 3 teams, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Sacramento Kings and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Under the proposed deal, the Minnesota Timberwolves would receive Luol Deng from the Los Angeles Lakers. Ricky Rubio would then be shipped to the Sacramento Kings. The Los Angeles Lakes meanwhile would acquire Rudy Gay from the Sacramento Kings.
Rudy Gay has been consistently being mentioned in trade rumors these past fews. He has also stated before that he will opt out of his contract at the end of the season and won't re-sign with the Sacramento Kings. So the Sacramento would most likely move Rudy Gay before the February trade deadline instead of getting nothing in return when Rudy Gay walks out on them at the end of the season. The only question is which team Rudy Gay would be traded. If they do get Ricky Rubio, the Sacramento Kings would have a starting point guard that they could on in the future.
The Los Angeles Lakers meanwhile are looking to trade Luol Deng and unload his big contract. Ever the since the Los Angeles Lakers signed Luol Deng to a 4 year, $72 million contract in the off season, the former NBA All-Star has been a disappointment for the Los Angeles Lakers. In acquiring Rudy Gay, they get a veteran player that could be a mentor to rookie and 2nd pick overall in the 2016 NBA Draft Brandon Ingram.
As for the Minnesota Timberwolves, getting Luol Deng would only make Tom Thibodeau happy. That's just about it. Based on what we're seeing from Luo Deng this season, the Minnesota Timberwolves won't get much out of Luol Deng. The Minnesota Timberwolves would just hope that a change in scenery would bring back the Chicago Bulls version of Luol Deng. So clearly the Minnesota Timberwolves are the losers of this rumored deal.
Both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings would definitely say yes to this deal. As for the Minnesota Timberwolves, that all depends on Tom Thibodeau.