On Friday, Sam Amick of The Athletic wrote that the Minnesota Timberwolves have strong interest in Derrick White, according to league sources.
It’s understandable why Minnesota would be intrigued by the soon-to-be 32-year-old. It would be best to pair Anthony Edwards with a defensive-minded backcourt partner, which White surely is. You’d expect the 3-point shooting to revert back to the mean after a down year.
I just don’t know how attainable he is, and I don’t believe that the Boston Celtics are truly looking to deal him. While Jake Fischer reported that the Celtics have expressed interest in Rudy Gobert before, he also noted they aren't likely to trade White.
However, Minnesota could have a better chance to pry a younger and somewhat similar player to White in Jalen Suggs of the Orlando Magic.
Suggs would be ideal backcourt member alongside Ant-Man
It was not a good playoffs for Suggs as the Magic were eliminated in seven games against the Detroit Pistons. It’s somewhat similar to another player who struggled mightily in the postseason and may be traded in Julius Randle.
The Magic may not have interest in him with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner in the frontcourt, but perhaps a 3-team trade could be worked out.
Trading Suggs would free up a starting spot in Orlando for Anthony Black, who also needs a new contract extension. Shipping Suggs to Minnesota would allow the 25-year-old to replace injured Donte DiVincenzo in their starting lineup.
Suggs has four years remaining on his contract, so he is signed through what should be the start of his prime. It’s a descending contract as well, meaning the deal will look better as it goes on.
Now, he’s played in just 92 games over the last two seasons, but Suggs is an elite perimeter defender. He made the All-Defensive second team in 2023-24, and he averaged a career best 1.8 steals this past season.
Good luck scoring on a defense that could feature Suggs, Jalen McDaniels, and Rudy Gobert.
You’d hope the 2023-24 season wasn’t an outlier for Suggs when he shot 39.7 percent from 3-point distance. He hasn’t approached that in any of his other four years in the league, but an improved free-throw stroke that he’s shown the past couple years often leads to improved shooting from distance. The 6-foot-5 guard also had an assist-to-turnover ratio of greater than two for the first time in 2025-26.
Suggs has his warts, but he could be a seamless fit in the backcourt with Edwards. He’s almost a full seven years younger than White, so further growth can be expected from Suggs.
