Report: Minnesota Timberwolves tried to trade J.J. Barea to Sixers

As we all know, the Philadelphia 76ers were invited to the three team trade that involved the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves. In that trade, Kevin Love went to the Cavaliers, Anthony Bennett, Andrew Wiggins, and Thaddeus Young went to the Timberwolves, while the Sixers got Alexey Shved, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and the Miami Heat’s 2015 first round pick.

What we didn’t know is that the Timberwolves tried to include an extra player in the trade. That player was point guard J.J. Barea. According to Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Timberwolves tried to trade him to the Sixers but they were not successful.

Zgoda also believes that the Timberwolves will try to buyout the point guard. For the Sixers, having a point guard like Barea on the roster, there would be no use for his services. Currently on the roster, they already have two point guards in reigning Rookie of the Year winner Michael Carter-Williams and Casper Ware.

Ware played well in both the Orlando Pro and Las Vegas Summer Leagues to be the backup point guard for the Sixers. Plus, Barea who is 30 years old still has one year and $4.5 million left on his contract and I highly doubt that Sam Hinkie would want to take that on the team’s cap room.

Anyway, Flip Saunders tried and couldn’t put Barea in the deal but for the Sixers they have two solid pieces in Shved and Mbah a Moute to work with.

[Photo: Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports]
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