WEBSTER TO MINNY
The Minnesota Timberwolves acquired forward/guard Martell Webster from the Portland Trail Blazers for the rights to forwards Luke Babbitt and Ryan Gomes.
What does it give the Minnesota Timberwolves
It's hard to be too excited about this deal from a Minny fan's perspective. Webster can certainly shoot and score (mostly when he's on a roll) and he's not a bad defender; but he's very streaky and not much of a passer. Meanwhile Babbitt has star potential and probably more upside than Webster at this point, and Gomes was one of the team's more versatile and dependable veterans. The 'Wolves do have a future star at small forward in draftee Wes Johnson (making this less risky) but it's still not a great trade on paper for Minnesota. They're not even shedding significant payroll.
What does it give the Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers seemed to grow frustrated with Webster last season, and get two upgrades for him here (in Babbitt and Gomes). Babbitt gives the Blazers a dynamic scoring forward who can spot the more-defensive Nicolas Batum at small forward, and Gomes is a 'glue' guy who can spot-start at both forward positions. The contracts mostly match up in this one, so this is looking like a definite 'win' for the Blazers.
Fantasy impact
