Timberwolves proposed swap sends Julius Randle to Hornets, brings All-Star forward to Minnesota

With the NBA trade deadline quickly approaching, teams will start pulling the trigger on trades.

Three teams that are expected to be active on the trade market are the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, and Charlotte Hornets. Perhaps there is a solution for all three teams to strike a deal with each other to get what they're looking for. 

A proposed three-team trade could swap three different star forwards. The Wolves would acquire Brandon Ingram, New Orleans gets Miles Bridges, and Charlotte acquires Julius Randle. 

While this trade works due to contracts, all three teams would have to add another player or some future draft capital to sweeten up the deal. 

For Minnesota, they're giving up on trying to incorporate Randle to their team chemistry and bring in some much-needed scoring help alongside star Anthony Edwards. As a potential playoff team, the Wolves are one of the worst offensive lineups in the league. This trade gives them a high volume scoring forward in the starting lineup and will help spread the floor.

The Pelicans part ways with Ingram, who seems to be mentally checked out from the team. His effort has noticeably decreased this season as well as the team's. They get a new young forward to pair with Zion Williamson and this is where some of the future draft capital comes in (from Minnesota). Bridges is moved to a new team where he will get more scoring opportunities than he does playing alongside LaMelo Ball (4th in scoring).

Finally, Charlotte parts ways with Bridges and brings in Randle to provide some additional rebounding help and size in their frontcourt. They're already one of the best rebounding teams in the league, but Randle is more of an upgrade on the offensive end. On the Hornets, he will have Ball as the team's distributing point guard. This is one of the big team needs in Minnesota. With a point guard like Ball, there will be plenty of opportunities for Randle to stretch the floor and get back to his scoring ways. Much like New Orleans, they'd be looking for some future draft capital to make the deal more appealing for them. 

Essentially, this is a trade that benefits all three teams. It helps the Wolves right now, and the Hornets and Pelicans for the future. 

MORE WOLVES NEWS: Warriors predicted to acquire ex-Timberwolves star by moving former No. 1 pick