Shabazz Muhammad
The UCLA star has spent his career to date performing as the Minnesota Timberwolves sixth man, at most. He’s been viewed as fringe member of the team’s core so far in his career. Muhammad was having quite a resurgence in his second year in the league, averaging 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game, but that was cut short with a torn ligament in his finger.
He’s never gotten the same type of freedom since the injury, but that’s more due to the additional talent that’s been added to the roster. With Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and Zach LaVine, the Wolves always have a top line scorer on the floor.
If Milwaukee were to acquire the 24-year-old, they could use him in a number of different roles. His offensive game is reliant on posting up on the block, and bullying small forwards for post scores. That could be a great balance to Giannis attacking.
With Shabazz going into isolation mode, Giannis would get a short break, and it’d allow him to size up the situation and try to make a play on the rebound. Muhammad has a style of play where Giannis could really get a vibe of when he’s about to shoot, and time it up. On the third shoulder shimmy, Giannis better be ready!
If the Timberwolves are interested in trading Shabazz, the market may not be wide-ranging. He’s still a young player, but he’s had injury problems, and is largely an offensive sixth man style player. Muhammad’s situation is an odd combination of talent, youth, injury concerns, and role, so I’d imagine a team sending back a young talent and a second round pick. With his contract winding down, it may not even take both.