The NBA trade rumor mill has elected involve the Minnesota Timberwolves again this week as the team tries to acquire restricted free agent Nicolas Batum from the Portland Trail Blazers. It doesn't sound like it's going to be easy, but at least there's apparently a deal being discussed.
The Blazers and Timberwolves are discussing a deal that would seemingly cripple the Wolves' chances at continuing to rebuild in the future in exchange for the immediate impact Batum could have, according to a report from ESPN's Ric Bucher.
The Trail Blazers and Timberwolves are discussing a deal that would bring Portland free-agent forward Nicolas Batum to Minnesota in exchange for two future first-round draft picks and a veteran small forward acquired from a third team, a league source told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher.
If the Blazers continue to balk, Bucher says, the Wolves will simply sign Batum to an offer sheet Wednesday night -- which Portland has said it'll match, keeping Batum in a Portland uniform.
That's quite a nice haul for the Blazers considering one of their alternatives is to let Batum play out this season and then walk for nothing next year, but maybe they believe another team will chip in with something else before that happens.
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