NBA Offseason

This is the worst Timberwolves offseason in history.

sheefo13 17-18 Season, NBA Offseason

Rant ahead. You’ve been warned.

Remember when the offseason was fun? Sometimes, more so than the regular season? Especially if you’re a Wolves fan? There was nothing like tracking the progress of rookies over the summer, even though their careers never panned out. I miss getting excited about signing a player that was not concerned about location or winning, but getting paid and maybe even extending their career.

Don’t believe huh? Remember when the Wolves signed Cole Aldrich? Wolves fans were going crazy! He had toughness. Size. Rim protecting ability. And was from Minnesota!

Lets take it back further. Remember when we drafted Tyus Jones? Wolves fandom was split on rooting for the hometown kid and if he would be productive. We followed him into the Summer League and eventually him earning MVP.

Back even further huh? Wolves fans were at one point excited when we traded for Martell Webster. A pioneer of the 3 and D. Yeah, he couldn’t stay healthy and we weren’t competitive, but there was a glimmer of hope.

I could go on and on. I used to love the offseason. Fast forward to the summer of 2018. The Wolves make decent in the draft by getting Josh Okogie and Keita Bates-Diop. I love both guys and think they fit well. We re-sign Derrick Rose to the minimum. Not mad. We replace Bjelica with Anthony Tolliver. Tolliver may actually fit this team a little better than Belly and was actually a better 3-pt shooter. We sign guys like CJ Williams and James Nunnally to fill out the roster. Guys who provide some nice wing depth. Williams is on a two-way contract even though he started a few games for the Clippers. Nunnally seems like a hungry player who can shoot the ball. We add this to a team that made the playoffs last season. Doesn’t seem like regression, right?

Last season left a bad taste in most Wolves fans’ mouth. We thought making the playoffs would taste much better after 14 years. Instead, it was a second half of the season that included a lot of regression. Dropping from the 3rd seed to making the playoffs with the 8th seed and a scary win in game 82.

So why is this the worst offseason ever?

Because every single push notification I have received this summer has been about someone in the Wolves organization making a fuss about nothing. And instead of intellectual discourse amongst Wolves fans about advanced stats and roster gaps, fans have argued back and forth about what and who to believe and which rumor. It feels like a really bad sports drama on Netflix.

It starts with Glen Taylor shutting out the media and refusing to talk about Wolves related topics. Then Jamal Crawford declining his player option and saying there are huge issues in the locker room. Then there is the drama with Wiggins not wanting to be a 3rd option. KAT saying he has things to say or that there are things to talk about but never talks about anything. Then queue Jimmy Butler and every possible rumor from wanting to play for any NBA team essentially and that he doesn’t like to lead others. Or something. I understand Jimmy declining the extension. He did the right thing. But KAT has a max extension on the table and for better or worse, is holding out on signing while his peers are getting paid.

This offseason has not been about basketball. At all. Tom Thibodeau has terrible PR skills. Mix that with a bunch of disgruntled millennials who are paid millions and love attention. And you get the Wolves 2018 offseason. I probably took that last statement too far, but whatever.

If all this extra drama was not involved, I would be crazy about this offseason. I think chemistry is the single most important thing on a basketball court. If it is non-existent, the team will suck. Analytics at its finest. The Wolves had the opportunity to build off of a tremendous season in terms of accomplishments. They could carry forward a team that is mostly the same but with a year of experience together. Continuity. Something that KAT and Wiggins haven’t really seen since high school really. It could potentially make all the difference for an even more stacked Western Conference. Instead we have spent the summer imploding.

How awkward are the training camp photos going to be this season? There is obvious beef. No one seems to want to be the bigger man.

I could be wrong. I hope I am wrong. KAT, Wiggins and Butler could love each other. Butler could be trolling the world. That said, it is not fun from a Wolves fan perspective. And horrible for a team that is betting on player development and team continuity as the way they improve from one season to the next.

/ end rant

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Wolves Fans: Don’t Buy into the Hype

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USP NBA: UTAH JAZZ AT MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES S BKN USA MN
Mar 30, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) blocks Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins (22) in the second quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: USATSI-188444 ORIG FILE ID: 20150330_mta_ai9_073.JPG

Hey Wolves fans – long time no talk! Its been an exciting offseason in which the amount of hype for the Timberwolves has be inconceivable . Why you may ask? Well, the Wolves have one of the most talented rosters in the league with one of the best coaches in league making a return after a year sabbatical. The Wolves have back-to-back Rookies of the year, a two-time dunk champion and a few other former first-round picks all acquired in the last three years. Their talent-level and potential are amongst the best in the league and they are all incredibly fun to watch.

Die-hard Wolves fans have followed Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach LaVine develop a nice chemistry over the summer while working out. Fans have enjoyed watching Andrew Wiggins workout videos in which he is adding to his game and having interviews where he says the Wolves will make the playoffs.  Wolves fans saw Kris Dunn dominate in the summer league and then Tyus Jones lead the team to the finals with a Summer League MVP. Wolves fans followed Coach Thibodeau win a gold medal and Ricky Rubio win a bronze medal. Wolves fans were also encouraged that most of the team did not participate in International play this summer to improve their games, namely Wiggins, Dieng and Bjelica.

There is a lot of reason to get excited. The Wolves are finally getting noticed. There will be 19 nationally televised games this upcoming season and the Wolves will finally play on Christmas! Gambling experts in Vegas also have set the Wolves as having the fourth best odds to winning the Western Conference! How can you NOT buy into the hype, right?

Kevin Pelton ran his RPM Forecast though and put the Wolves 11th in West with 37 wins on the season. The forecast doesn’t account for coaching changes, which should probably get the Wolves a few more wins in general. This may be the other end of the spectrum with the forecast, having the Wolves behind the Nuggets and Thunder this season. Although the forecast is fairly accurate most seasons, it is just that, a forecast. The forecast had some ridiculous predictions like the Jazz being the 3rd best in the West, Thunder at 6th and Nuggets at 8th.

There is no question, this is the most excited I have been in a while for a season as a Timberwolves fan. I also understand that it is a process. A question I think all fans will need to ask themselves is ‘Will I be disappointed if the Timberwolves don’t make the playoffs?’ If you answered yes, then you may need to check your hype-o-meter. Take a step back and understand that the road to success is typically a bumpy one. Here are some factors to take into consideration:

The Wolves are still young and inexperienced.

The Timberwolves are putting all of their hope in a bunch of guys who can’t rent a car without an underage fee. The talent and potential is there. The issue lay in the mental game. The pup-pack (nickname I am now using instead of saying KAT, Wiggy, LaVine, Dunn, and rest of the young wolf pack) have their heads held high making playoff predictions because they don’t know better. They haven’t face calamity yet. They haven’t played regular season games that had real meaning yet. In all likelihood, the Wolves will end the season with a starting lineup that has 5 guys who have never played a playoff game. I don’t have the research, but history would likely prove that teams like that don’t make it too far. The logical progression in my head is that the Wolves compete for a playoff first, before making it officially. Ideally, this season plays out similar to how the Jazz’s season played out last year.

There were no major acquisitions.

Cole Aldrich. Jordan Hill. Brandon Rush. In a summer where money was more available than tech help in India, the Wolves couldn’t get a major free agent to sign. All three players will add value and depth to the team and they are all low-risk contracts. That is an absolute win. The Wolves didn’t ‘overpay’ anyone, which is good. But the Wolves also didn’t add any talent that would help the Wolves win more games. They struck out multiple times with guys that could’ve come in and help at least make a significant improvement to the roster. Because of this, the Wolves improvement really relies on what Coach Thibs can do in his first year and the progression of the young guys.

Thibs needs time to teach his system.

A good segway. I think there is good certainty in that the Wolves young guys are going to improve. There isn’t the same certainty in that the team picks up on Thibs’ scheme in the first season. The experience factor kicks in again here where it may not be the easiest to just pick up a new coach’s schemes and run it flawlessly in game situations. There will certainly be growing pains. Literally and figuratively with Thibodeau. Especially with the pup-pack. It may feel like a rookie year all over again for guys who don’t have a high basketball IQ. Thibodeau does not have an active veteran who understands his system that can help implement it like a Jimmy Butler or Luol Deng would’ve been able to do. It is going to take some time to learn. Luckily for the Timberwolves, they have time.

The only major change has been some media hype.

Man – the bandwagon is starting to feel like a freight train. Fans from all over are loving the Timberwolves, including the National Media. As OG Wolves fans, we are welcoming them all with open arms. But the anticipation to see KAT and Wiggins play for Tom Thibodeau is beginning to make people become a little over-ambitious. This Wolves roster is much more of a journey than it is a destination right now.

Injuries could be a problem.

Prior to last season, the Wolves were constantly having injury problems. Insert Arnie Kander. In his one season, he helped Ricky Rubio stay fairly healthy for a season and we even saw some run from a Nikola Pekovic, who should probably be retired. Now, exit Arnie Kander. Insert Tom Thibodeau. Thibs is known to make his guys work. Not a criticism. But it is something I think most Wolves fans will monitor this season. Injuries can set any team back. So just something to point out.

Other teams in the west got better too

The Wolves got better but there are other teams that really got better. The Jazz got a consistent starting point guard in George Hill who fits in perfectly there. The Blazers and Pelicans added some nice talent. I expected the Grizzlies to fall off but they ended up keeping Mike Conley and adding Chandler Parsons. If they can stay healthy with Marc Gasol, they could be pretty good. There are going to be 8 spots for probably 11 teams that have a legitimate shot at competing at them.

Agree? Disagree? Let us know! Get in touch with us on Twitter or Facebook!

The Timber Rebuilder

[UPDATE: 7/2] Timberwolves Running Offseason Tracker

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7/2/2016

[9:30am CST]

The news doesn’t sleep. The big news this morning is Luol Deng has agreed to sign with the Lakers on a deal worth $72M over four years.

Deng, in my opinion, was the most coveted free agent for the Timberwolves and probably the biggest impact player in terms of need and helping the Timberwolves make a playoff push this next season. Losing him may send the Wolves into a panic quite frankly. It may mean that a trade will fill the power forward position. Luckily there are other free agents but many are back-up level power forwards and don’t have the versatility that Deng has.

The craziest part about this Deng signing is the bar it naturally set for free agents. Deng, passed his prime and not the player he once was, just pulled in $18M for the max amount of years you can sign with a team that wasn’t your former. This changes what players can expect to sign, especially older players, when signing with anyone. Pau Gasol, the Wolves’ next target, can point to the contract Deng got with a rebuilding Laker team, and say he wants something in that realm.

The Wolves were smart to avoid giving Deng four years. Even three-years would’ve been a stretch. The Timberwolves are in a position that anyone over two years has to be considered a solid part of the future here. The reason being is that the Wolves will need to extend players like Wiggins and LaVine. The Wolves have learned from the Thunder/ James Harden scenario that you can’t give up that easily on young players. You need to be prepared to extend them.

Gasol is the only player that the Wolves have left on the board that is still a quality starter at the power forward position. His defense lacks and would require the ball a lot to be effective unfortunately, but could absolutely help the Wolves make a playoff push.

I still haven’t heard anything around Moe Harkless. He is more of a gamble, but if he is capable of starting at power forward, he is the only player I would be willing to give a third, even a fourth year to. My hope is that he isn’t looking to get Deng money. My impression before the Deng deal is that Harkless would expect more than Deng simply due to his potential. He has a three-pointer that used to exist and still an unproven commodity.

More to come nonetheless.

7/1/2016

[8:00pm CST]

Man a lot has happened in the last 8 hours. Here is what is happening on the Wolves front:

So the Wolves are clearly interested in a shooting guard. Courtney Lee would be among the top candidates for the Wolves to sign. The Wolves also were in contact with Anthony Tolliver and Kris Humphries, both with their own ties to Minnesota previously. They would be bench players for the most part.

Around the League?

Two guys off the list: Solomon Hill to the Pelicans. Mirza Teletovic to the Bucks. Crossing off the list.

Mike Conley received the largest contract in NBA history, getting the full max for five-years. He has never been an all-star. He heads back to Memphis. He will team up with Chandler Parsons, who has agreed to sign with Memphis. It is interesting because Memphis is looking like a playoff team and the Mavs are looking to hit the lottery. Those are important things to note as the Wolves make a playoff push.

Dwight Howard went to the Hawks on a three-year deal worth $70.5M. Not sure what they are doing there but chances are, Al Horford will head elsewhere.

The Blazers overpaid for Evan Turner. The Blazers are making a serious push to be in the playoffs again. With Turner going to Portland, I would imagine Harkless or Crabbe become more available in restricted free agency.

A quiet signing was Jeff Green going to Orlando on a one-year deal. They are looking to make a playoff push in the East now.

That is a lot of info. Will let it digest. Please share!

[12:30pm CST]

Lots of developments in the last hour. On the Wolves front, they are showing interest in Kent Bazemore. May be pricy for his position and how he would fit with the Wolves though.

In news around the NBA. Al Jefferson has signed with Pacers on a three-year deal. Jefferson is a former Timberwolves franchise-centerpiece and the beginning of the rebuilding in MN. Also, free agent O.J. Mayo has been suspended by the NBA for two years for their substance-abuse policy. Mayo could’ve got a solid contract this summer. Instead, he is going to be without a paycheck for two years. This is why you don’t do drugs kids. He just lost a ton of money.

[9:00am CST]

Looking like Whiteside is heading back to Miami to kick it with DJ Khaled. The Pistons also got their backup point guard in Ish Smith, signing him to a three-year deal.

[8:30am CST]

Free agency is officially underway. When Woj went to bed at 1am, it made sense that the rest of us do the same.

On the Timberwolves front, Tom Thibodeau has reached out to Luol Deng and they should talk today or tomorrow. There are many other teams interested in Deng. Teams interested are Miami, Utah, Boston, and Washington. I feel that the Wolves have a decent chance of landing Deng since Minnesota seems like a better situation than the others.

According to Doogie Wolfson, the Wolves have not shown interest in Demar Derozan (who is heading back to Toronto anyway), Al Horford, or Jamal Crawford. All of this is expected I think. There are mentorship ties between Horford and Towns as well as with Crawford and LaVine.

Around the league, the Lakers struck first in agreeing to terms with Timofey Mozgov and re-sign Jordan Clarkson. They dished out a ton of money to do that.

DJ Augustin, who the Wolves had interest in is headed to the Magic it looks like. He will be struck off the list.

Nicolas Batum signed a max deal with the Hornets for 5-years. He will come off the list. I didn’t expect him to be a target for the Wolves, but the Hornets are going to attempt to retain Courtney Lee and Marvin Williams still.

Eric Gordon seems to be highly coveted by the Knicks. They will likely throw a ton of money at him. Something to watch there.

There are rumblings that the Nets will look to pursue Ryan Anderson. That would make me happy.

The Spurs have interest in Mirza Teletovic. That should indicate that the Wolves should really go after him then.

As for Hassan Whiteside, it looks like Miami is back in the running for him. So will see what happens there.

 

6/31/2016

[11:00pm CST]

It’s go-time!!

Rumblings of the Wolves around Luol Deng and Pau Gasol. Wolves will likely contact them at midnight tonight.

Whiteside sounds like heading to Dallas and KD back to OKC. More info soon.

[7:00pm CST]

For what it’s worth, looks like KG and Thibs spoke.

[2:30pm CST]

Latest on big free agents. Hassan Whiteside will decide between the Mavs and Heat. Noah is reportedly planning to sign with the Knicks for $18M.

On the Wolves front, looks like Timberwolves have interest in forward Lance Thomas from the Knicks. Would be a great signing.

There are lots of teams swirling everywhere around difference players. Cool resource here though to see players’ max contracts. https://public.tableau.com/profile/sraanalytics#!/vizhome/NBAFreeAgency/NBAFreeAgency

[11.04am CST]

First update! Adding Brandon Bass to the list of players to watch below. Thanks Doogie!

[11:00am CST]

Timberwolves fandom,

12 hours from the start of free agency! This will be your one stop-shop for everything offseason for your Minnesota Timberwolves. We are going to take a fivethirtyeight approach to the offseason this summer and keep updates in one posts. This will to not clutter your inbox but also a place you know you can go to get the latest-and-greatest on what is happening with the Timberwolves. Please follow our blog and then on social media (@timberrebuilder ) on twitter/ facebook/ Instagram. Our managing editor, Sherief, also has a personal twitter now that you can follow @SheriefNBA.

How this will work is we will continue to update this specific post, keeping the most relevant information at the top. Each day, you can come visit our page and this specific post and see what is happening with players around the league, specifically those of interest for the Timberwolves. Players we will keep track of will be based first on our post initially on Timberwolves free agency. We will then track other big free agents, since they really form the market. We will also follow other players that have said to be of interest for the Wolves by other sources. There are a few players that have overlap with what is reported as ‘having steam’ and that we see as good fits. Below is a running list of players:

Kevin Durant

Lebron James

Hassan Whiteside

Al Horford

Mike Conley

Luol Deng

Joakim Noah

Courtney Lee

Marvin Williams

Nicolas Batum

Ryan Anderson

Chandler Parsons

Moe Harkless

Mirza Teletovic

Terrance Jones

Eric Gordon

Solomon Hill

Derrick Williams

Jamal Crawford

James Ennis

DJ Augustin

Randy Foye

Kris Humphries

Brandon Bass

Damjan Rudez

Tayshaun Prince

Then we will follow any trade rumors that involve the Timberwolves and those that could be NBA landscape changing. We will add quick personal thoughts here instead of starting new posts for every rumor.

Finally, there is something called summer league that is happening! After the draft, the summer league is one of the most exciting things in the offseason.

Please follow and share. Will continue to make updates as developments happen over the summer!

The Timber Rebuilder.

 

 

The News Timberwolves Fans should be Talking about.

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With all the Rubio trade rumors, draft hangover, and free agency frenzies, the biggest news that will impact the Timberwolves long-term occurred and many people disregarded it. While it is not huge portion of the team, Glen Taylor sold a 5% stake to Chinese Business man Lizhang Jiang. The 35 year-old owns a sports marketing company in China and is the first Chinese NBA owner. This is huge news for a few reasons:

  • The 5% stake valued the Timberwolves at being worth $1 Billion.
  • The NBA market in China is Huge.
  • Glen Taylor finally sold a minority-stake in the team.

To put some perspective on this, the Timberwolves valuation of $1 Billion puts it above what the Atlanta Hawks sold for at $780M, the last team to be sold. The Clippers were sold at $2B, which really increased the values of NBA-franchises around the league.

The Timberwolves are poised to be marketable in China and not just because the team is exciting. Zach LaVine has visited China in consecutive summers building his brand there. His popularity there is huge due to his back-to-back Dunk Championships. In Karl-Anthony Towns’ portfolio of publicity strides after his Rookie of the Year campaign, he recently came back from a China visit himself. If both players grow their popularity as players like Kobe Bryant exit, their brands could be among the strongest with the help of a Chinese owner.

While the 5% stake is not huge, it is an indication of where things are headed. Glen Taylor will absolutely look to sell the team in the near future and if one of the minority-owners decides to keep riding the wave in Minnesota, they could certainly buy out majority-stake in the near-term. With an increasing cap and revenue coming from broadcasting, the price tag on the franchise will certainly grow. Couple that with a young and exciting Wolves team that is not only marketable but international. Adding a player from China eventually will likely be something that is in the best interests of all the owners of the team.

Lizhang Jiang, also partial owner of a Spanish Soccer team, has encouraged bringing Chinese players over to Europe. The Rockets, who own the largest market share in China of any NBA team, just drafted Zhou Qi which seemed like a smart marketing move on their end. Certainly it will take a Chinese player on the roster in the future to grow the Timberwolves’ market share in the future.

Over the next few seasons, all of the young pups will be working to develop their personal brands, in and out of the US. Andrew Wiggins is already referred to as Maple Jordan and Towns has spent time developing his post-retirement career in broadcasting. The opportunity to couple their brands with a booming Chinese basketball economy could be a perfect storm. There will also be opportunities for the Timberwolves to potentially play some regular season games in China.

Being a marketing student/ fanatic, this is a dream come true as a Wolves fan. The Timberwolves could develop into a team that is nationally broadcasted regularly and seen as a decent free agent destination. Hopefully it will draw people to not only talk about the weather when a player ends up in Minny.

The Timber Rebuilder.

P.S. I hope the new owners push for new jerseys. We need it.

Timberwolves Free Agent Targets

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July 1st marks the first day of free agency. Tom Thibodeau will continue to make his mark on the franchise by filling in needs that the current roster has. The Timberwolves have high hopes of making the playoffs next season and in order to do that, they need to add a couple pieces to the young roster.

The Wolves have to figure out a lot with their current roster still. The Ricky Rubio trade rumors are stronger than ever and there is still uncertainty with what is going to happen with Kevin Garnett. The Wolves also have Payne and Pekovic who are taking up two front court roster spots that could be used for players who may be more serviceable. The Timberwolves are also unlikely to resign Tayshaun Prince and Greg Smith. The Timbewolves also won’t bring back Damjan Rudez, who had a team option. Barring any significant trades though, free agency will look to address a couple of needs, in which we feel have importance in this order:

  1. A stretch power forward
  2. Three-point shooting
  3. Bench Scoring
  4. Front Court Depth
  5. Perimeter defense

The Timberwolves have $25M-$29M in cap space with the growing cap, which gives the Wolves a good amount of space to work with. Most of the league will have a similar amount of space since the Cap increased, but it puts the Wolves in a position to attract a couple decent free agents. The ideal free agents will be guys who can fill multiple of the five needs above. It also makes sense that the Wolves target guys who fit into the career trajectory of the current roster. Players should either be younger if they are signing a long term deal or on the wrong side of 30 who can give the Wolves an immediate, short-term, veteran boost. Using that framework to determine who the Wolves may be interested in, we will list the players in which we feel the Wolves would gain the most benefit of signing. Starting from the bottom…

James Ennis

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This is a personal preference guy for me. Ennis has found his way around the league early in his career from the Heat to the Grizzlies and finally with the Pelicans where he got a lot of minutes. If there is a guy to fill out the roster, taking a chance on Ennis would be interesting. He has a decent 3-point shot and incredibly athletic. If put in the right position at 25 years old, he may be able to flourish.

Jamal Crawford

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An unpopular pick by most, but I think Jamal Crawford could add something the Wolves desperately need, bench scoring. Crawford is a three-time 6th man of the year so he has mastered the craft of coming off the bench and making an impact. He isn’t the most efficient of scorers but in games where other guys are not able to put points on the board, Crawford will not be shy to put shots up. What Crawford also does is provide the veteran leadership that could help the Wolves if they make a playoff push. It also is helpful that he is one of Zach LaVine’s biggest mentors and a guy Thibs has had on his radar for a long time.

Marreese Speights

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Another fence swing before we get into more viable options. Speights is going to be 30 by the time he enters next season and might not make sense for him to leave a dynasty like the Warriors for the team that hasn’t made the playoffs in the longest time. But Speights could provide veteran leadership, scoring off the bench, and could be a stretch four in some situations. Speights has a three-point shot that he is likely trying to showcase somewhere since he wasn’t getting much playing time in Golden State. Not sure if both parties are on each others’ radars, but could be a decent fit.

Courtney Lee

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Courtney Lee has be a solid performer anywhere he has played. While the Wolves might not have an ideal role carved out for him, he could secure a deal long-term at what is an inconvenient age of 30. What he could do is embrace a role similar to Andre Igoudala when he went to the Warriors in which he becomes the veteran leadership off the bench. His three-point shot is good and can absolutely score. Also, he has been a good defender and could compliment Zach LaVine when the Wolves play stronger two-guards.

Solomon Hill

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The ideal 3-and-D guy who just needs to improve his shot a little. Hill played big when Paul George was injured and could be a spot starter in various situations, especially when injuries happen. He is still young (25) and can grow as a role player with the Wolves. He has the ability to stretch and play the four position mainly because of his toughness and rebounding ability at his size. He is due for a decent contract outside of Indiana since his skill set is valued around the league. A fun fact about him, he was Derrick Williams’ teammate in college.

Moe Harkless

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Harkless may be my favorite free agent this summer. Harkless is 23 years old only and hasn’t really been given the opportunity to showcase his talent yet. Although he is a restricted free agent, it may be difficult for Portland to match an offer if they plan to retain Allen Crabbe and sign another free agent this summer. Harkless is the prototype stretch-4 who can guard both small and power forwards. Harkless also has the ability to hit the three (shot 38% in his second season). Moe seems like the definition of a late bloomer and could fit well as the starting power forward in a year or two. If the Wolves can find a way to sign him to a reasonable long-term contract, they may have found a steal in free agency here.

Mirza Teletovic

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Teletovic can come and join the Wolves being someone who made him impact on Karl-Anthony Towns by draining a game-winner in his face. Teletovic is older and doesn’t have a ton of experience in the league but is one of the best shooters around. He is an absolute competitor and could solve the Wolves issues with spacing and three-point shooting for fairly cheap. He could be a short-term fix at power forward and just enough to help the Wolves make a playoff push.

Marvin Williams

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Williams has been around and had a breakout season conveniently as his contract was expiring. Another stretch-4 who can shoot and guard both forward positions. He is a bit older than what the Wolves would want so it would be ideal to give him a two-year deal. The Wolves may lose him to competition nonetheless if they don’t want to give him a three or four year deal.

Luol Deng

deng

The most ideal free agent available. Luol Deng played his best basketball under Tom Thibodeau and now is a small-ball 4 that is versatile enough to come off the bench or start for the Wolves. If there is any free agent the Wolves have a realistic shot at landing that can truly turn the Wolves into a playoff team, it is Deng. He is still good defensively and can shoot. He wouldn’t have a problem being the 4th of 5th option on the floor either. Seems like he makes the most sense.

There are many other options that the Wolves could pursue but these guys make the most sense. Best case scenario is that the Wolves are able to land two of these guys. My preference of signings would be Moe Harkless and Solomon Hill to reasonable deals.

There are chances the Wolves talk to Joakim Noah and Al Horford but there is little sense in them coming here unless they don’t want the best contract that could be offered to them. Both players can make more for longer elsewhere and play in roles that probably fit their careers better.

I also hope the Wolves stay far away from Kent Bazemore. He is 27 and underwhelming in terms of what he can do, in my opinion. There are younger, cheaper options the Wolves could pursue that minimize the risk associated with using cap space on these guys. Bazemore will likely get a hefty deal somewhere, my hope is that it is not here.

If the Timberwolves are looking to make a reunion happen, the members of the All-Minnesota NBA team happen to all be free agents this summer. If you are not familiar with this team, it is essentially players who are in the NBA that are from Minnesota. Players included on this team are Kris Humphries, Jon Leuer, Alan Anderson, and Cole Aldrich. Although he has been out of the NBA for a year or so, Nate Wolters runs the point guard of that team, who also could sign with a team. All of the guys could potentially fit with the Wolves, although I don’t see Thibodeau being inclined to sign any of them.

The madness starts on Friday. Do you agree with this list? Anyone that we missed? Let us know!