Timberwolves Trade Josh Green to Jazz in Move That Clears Room for Kuminga
The Minnesota Timberwolves completed a trade with the Utah Jazz, acquiring Cody Williams and John Konchar in exchange for Josh Green and cash. This strategic move allows Minnesota to secure the 10th pick of the 2024 draft and gain crucial salary cap flexibility to sign Jonathan Kuminga, while the Jazz bolstered their roster with a 3-and-D wing.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have traded Josh Green to the Utah Jazz in a deal that gives Minnesota the financial flexibility it needed to complete the signing of Jonathan Kuminga.
The Timberwolves received Cody Williams and John Konchar, along with cash considerations. Green heads to Utah.
For Minnesota, the biggest piece of the deal is Williams, the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. The Timberwolves kept the young guard and waived Konchar shortly after the trade.
Konchar's $6.165 million salary was stretched over three seasons, leaving Minnesota with a cap hit of roughly $2.05 million per year. That move helped create the financial room needed to complete the Kuminga signing.
Green's contract was the key
The Timberwolves' decision to move Green was largely about money.
Green was entering the second year of a contract worth $14.7 million, and Minnesota had been exploring trade options involving him as it worked toward a deal with Kuminga.
Moving Green created the salary flexibility Minnesota needed to sign Kuminga using the taxpayer midlevel exception. Kuminga agreed to a two-year, $12.4 million contract, according to ESPN.
That made Green the cost of doing business for a Minnesota team that wanted to add Kuminga without giving up one of its more important core players.
Utah gets the wing it wanted
For the Jazz, Green fills a fairly straightforward need.
The 25-year-old wing brings the kind of 3-and-D profile Utah has been looking for: someone capable of defending on the perimeter while providing a reliable outside shooting option.
Green had only recently arrived in Minnesota as part of the offseason trade that sent LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves. He never got the chance to settle into the team before being moved again.
Utah is now giving him another opportunity to carve out a more significant place in its rotation.
Williams becomes Minnesota's long-term bet
The more interesting question for Minnesota is what it can get out of Williams.
The former lottery pick had a difficult start to his NBA career in Utah, but the Timberwolves clearly still see enough upside to make him worth acquiring. At 21, Williams gives Minnesota another young player it can develop without sacrificing its immediate plans.
The Timberwolves' decision to waive and stretch Konchar also shows how much importance they placed on creating the financial room for Kuminga.
So while the trade may look like a simple Green-for-Williams swap at first glance, it was really about roster construction.
Minnesota gets a young former lottery pick and clears the money needed for Kuminga. Utah gets an NBA-ready wing who fits a clear need.
For both teams, the logic is fairly easy to see.