KD can t be replaced! How strong is 24-year-old McDaniels?

Everyone knows that the Durant deal is coming soon.

Judging from the recent leaks, Durant's three most likely next players are: the Timberwolves, Spurs, and Rockets. Among them, the Rockets (with the first round of the Suns), and then the Spurs.

Timberwolves have the least draft picks in these three teams, but they are reportedly the most motivated, and there were trade discussions with the Suns before the trade ended in February this year.

However, even if you are interested in Durant, the Timberwolves have some players who cannot move.

Edwards needs no need to say, it will definitely not sell. In addition, according to TA Timberwolves' record Jon Krawczynski, in Durant's trading negotiations, the Timberwolves also listed team forward Jaden McDaniels as a non-sale product.

Many people may have questions about this. After all, that is Durant, but if you think about it carefully, it is normal for the Timberwolves to not sell McDan. After all, his performance this season is really good. In the regular season, McDaniels played 82 games for the Timberwolves, averaging 31.9 minutes per game, scoring 12.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals. This is the best season in McDan's career. His four statistics are the most in his career.

There is a slight disadvantage that McDaniels' offensive efficiency has declined this year, shooting 47.7% from the field, 33.0% from three-point shooting, and real shooting percentage of only 56.2%, the lowest in the past three years.

As a comparison, McDaniels two years ago: his shooting percentage was 51.7%, his three-point shooting percentage was 39.8%, and his real shooting percentage reached 61.1%. It was also because of his outstanding performance that year that McDaniels received a five-year, 131 million contract renewal given by the Timberwolves.

The focus is on the playoffs, and McDan really amazed many people.

Timberwolves' playoff journey, McDaniels played all 15 games, averaging 14.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. At the same time, the shooting percentage of the three events increased to 51.5%/38.2%/89.3%, and the real shooting percentage was 60.7%.

In the first round, McDaniels played particularly well in the Lakers who had relatively weak defense. He made 11 of 13 shots in G1, scored 25 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists in super efficiently, and G3 made 13 of 22 shots in the game, scored 30 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. In the second round against the Warriors, McDaniels scored double-digit points in five consecutive games, winning the final match against G5. Not only did he score 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals, but he also defended Butler only 17 points in the game.

Although he lost to the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, McDaniels' performance was not bad either. He scored 22 points twice in G2 and G4, and his three-point shooting percentage in the entire series reached 42.3%, an increase of nearly 10 percentage points compared to the regular season. In addition to taking on more responsibilities on the offensive end, McDaniels on the defensive end is also the Timberwolves. His main defense players are Doncic, Butler, and Alexander in the three rounds of the game, are all the offensive cores on the opponent.

In the entire playoffs, McDaniels averaged 13.6 shots per game, with his opponent's shooting percentage dropping by 1.8%, and his 10-foot-in-the-line dropping by 7.0%, which is also quite considerable.

It can be said that McDaniels played the fourth and even third core performances on both offense and defense, and the data can also prove his importance. Timberwolves' playoff journey this year:

- When McDaniels was present, the Timberwolves netted 8.3 points

- McDaniels was not present, and the Timberwolves lost 9.8 points

15 games. The Timberwolves had the highest cumulative positive and negative values ​​in the Timberwolves team were not Edwards (+38), Randle (+40), and Gobert (+59), but McDaniels (+77).

Of course, it is not that McDaniels' role is greater than the others, but at least this year's regular season and playoffs have proved that as Pippen around Edwards, McDaniels is definitely qualified. The point is that his annual salary for the remaining four years of contract is less than 30 million (deleting the reward for being selected for the best team), which is absolutely worth the money.

If it were a younger Durant, the Timberwolves might have to send such a McDan away, but Durant is now 37 years old. If he trades McDan for Durant, it may cause the Timberwolves' outside defense to decline sharply.

At this point, I have to sigh that Durant's trading value has indeed declined sharply. You should know that less than three years ago, the Suns sent away 4 first rounds + 1 swap + Bridges + Cameron Johnson + Crowder in order to get him.

Not to mention other chips, Bridges' status and contract cost-effectiveness at that time were no worse than McDaniels today. Now in less than three years, not only are there less than 4 first rounds, but also the high-quality 3D cannot be replaced - if you have to say it, it is not only because Durant is old, but also because the Suns were too rich at that time.

only talks about McDaniels. Obviously, the Timberwolves have high expectations for him. He is the same class as Edwards, and is only one year older than Edwards (24 years old). There is still the possibility of continuing to make progress. I hope that in the new season, Huazi and McDan can continue to evolve. These two people may be the next 5-10 years of the Timberwolves.