By: Seth Toupal
WELCOME TO THE START OF NBA FREE AGENCY!!!!! It's finally here and Gersson Rosas isn't wasting any time trying to improve the Wolves roster. By the time you read this, the Wolves will have been linked HEAVILY to D'Angelo Russell, and are meeting with him on Monday. Seems difficult considering the Wolves current salary cap commitments right? Well before we get into Russell let's take a look at what is currently on the books according to Spotrac: 
And here are the Wolves impending restricted and unrestricted free agents:
And most importantly here is the salary cap figure for the upcoming season:
Depending on what happens with Russell, the Wolves will have to attack the offseason in a couple of different ways. Each option gives this team a pretty drastically different look.
Plan A is clearly acquiring Russell. This can be done in a couple of different ways. According to Woj, it is all but certain that Kyrie Irving will sign with Brooklyn, who had extended Russell a qualifying offer. The Nets will then renounce Russell's rights making him an unrestricted free agent which helps the Wolves in their pitch. They no longer have to worry about putting a package together that Brooklyn would be comfortable with taking on in return, and simply have to clear cap space to bring him in. Russell and Towns are very good friends, which helps the Wolves in their pitch. Their biggest competition appears to be the Lakers, but the Lakers view him as a fallback option in the event that Kawhi Leonard goes elsewhere. Will Russell be willing to wait if Kawhi doesn't sign right away? The Timberwolves biggest contracts are Andrew Wiggins, Jeff Teague, and Gorgui Dieng. The growing sense around the league is that the Wolves will have no problem moving Wiggins in a trade and wouldn't even have to classify it as a salary dump. If the Wolves are able to unload Wiggins, that would clear the room they need to sign Russell. The question then becomes what next? With Russell in the fold, Teague becomes expendable and the Wolves can look at their options. Phoenix is looking for a veteran point guard (and has been for basically the entire post-Steve Nash era) so that may be a logical trade partner. If Teague is unloaded, then suddenly the Wolves have money to work with and can look at veteran bigs to put around Karl-Anthony Towns. Taj Gibson may be receptive to coming back on a reduced salary with a guarantee for more playing time. If not other names the Wolves could consider if they offload big salaries names they could target to help bolster their big rotation look like this: 
And the Wolves could look for some wings too, but with Culver, Covington and Okogie all under contract right now the need there is substantially less than some bigs.
These names would be those that the Wolves would target either way, but a roster with KAT and Russell looks dramatically different than one with KAT and Wiggins, it just does. The main objective here is obviously Russell, and if that falls through then they'll resort to Plan B -- a plan we aren't quite aware of yet but from what Rosas had said, would still be an aggressive pursuit of a potential star sidekick next to Towns.
This offseason has started out with a surprising amount of buzz and that means the Wolves are working on a few things. This roster could look dramatically different by the end of the week. Seth is the host of The Scoop on KLGR Radio out of Redwood Falls, Minnesota. Listen to episodes of The Scoop here.
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 By: Brian Simonson
The NBA offseason is officially underway, and new Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas continues to fill in those checkboxes on a long list of to-do items before the 2019-2020 season kicks off. After retaining Ryan Saunders as head coach and filling out the front office staff, the latest checkbox was the NBA draft June 20. In summary, the moves the Wolves made on draft night: -Traded the No. 11 overall pick and Dario Saric to the Phoenix Suns for the No. 6 overall pick -Drafted (by the Suns) Jarrett Culver with the No. 6 overall pick. Due to the moratorium period, this will not be finalized until July 6th. -Drafted Jaylen Nowell with the 43rd pick in the second round -Signed C Naz Reid from LSU and G Tyus Battle from Syracuse -Signed former University of Minnesota forward Jordan Murphy to the Summer League roster Reviewing the moves Much to their benefit, the Wolves didn’t have to give up much trading up to No. 6. There were other reported trade discussions involving Robert Covington, which would have been a devastating loss on the defensive end. Instead, they were able to move Saric, who was more than likely going to end up commanding a salary higher than the Wolves would be willing to offer once his current deal expires after next season. Consequently, parting ways with Saric was wise given the risk of him jolting next offseason and receiving nothing in return. With the No. 6 pick, it was presumed Minnesota was building their backcourt of the future by selecting Darius Garland or Coby White. The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Garland with the No. 5 pick, leaving Rosas scrambling to find trade partners for No. 6 as the clock on the pick was winding down. Finding no suitors, the Wolves ended up using Phoenix’s pick to draft Big 12 Player of the Year Jarrett Culver, a sophomore shooting guard from Texas Tech. One of his strengths that will be heavily leveraged with the Wolves is his strong defensive abilities. One of his primary weaknesses is his shooting range, which is expected to improve over time in the NBA. We’ll have more on “Butterburger” Culver (we have given him this new nickname) throughout the Summer League. With pick No. 43, Minnesota selected Pac-12 Player of the Year Jaylen Nowell. Nowell was remembered for his success in clutch situations while playing for Washington. Let’s hope that the third time 's a charm when it comes to drafting Syracuse products (see Johnny Flynn and Wesley Johnson). What it means moving forward Drafting Culver resulted in a glaring logjam at the wing position for Wolves players currently under contract, which scratched a few heads. This also did not solve anything at the point guard position. With this in mind, we feel that Rosas is not done making moves. There is much speculation that Andrew Wiggins is on the trade market and moving his contract would help eliminate the wing overload and potentially clear enough cap space to facilitate a sign-and-trade with Brooklyn RFA D’Angelo Russell. Moving Saric means there are currently no power forwards under contract. Robert Covington’s primary position is small forward, but he is expected to move to play some power forward next season in what projects to be a position-less roster. Wiggins, if on the team, may also be asked to play there some. With that said, it's fair to suggest this team could have some rebounding issues next season. If there’s one thing we know for sure about Gersson Rosas, he is certainly putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to the organization and its fans feeling change is on the horizon. The front office acted in what seemed to be a more proactive manner than displayed in many previous drafts. They seemed well prepared, assertive, confident, and had backup plans in place on draft night. Personally, I love how Rosas is not settling, doing his research and challenging the status quo on everything within the organization. He is someone who sets out an action plan and executes rather than running his position in a reactive manner. We trust that this is just the beginning of his moves this offseason. His next set of checkboxes to fill are addressing the point guard situation (c’ mon, D’Angelo Russell!), trades and free agency to round out the roster. Like Dan said on draft day, their number one priority needs to be doing everything possible to land Karl-Anthony Towns a star sidekick. Until then, we’ll see you at the Summer League, which the Wolves should have a fun roster to watch.  By: Dan Slaubaugh
Happy draft day, everyone! Thanks for clicking. I will get into draft talk quickly, but first, want to begin with a prelude. I'd like to apologize for our non-existent NBA draft coverage. We have essentially been ghosts, and are the first to admit it. In a time of transition for a lot of us, we’ve all been simply busy. I’m fresh off college graduation working full-time while trying to find full-time work in sports journalism, which, if you’ve ever attempted, know is an exhausting and periodically dejecting journey. Zach recently had a wonderful, precious baby girl, so he’s basically working two jobs. Lastly, Seth is working about 55 hours per week so he hasn’t had much time to contribute. As a result, the blog has inadvertently taken a bit of a backseat in our lives. We’ll do our best to get back into things and churn out fresh content on the state of the franchise throughout free agency and the 2019-20 season, and I’m sorry I’ve let you down over the past few months. Now, what you came for! --------------------- The Wolves currently enter tonight’s NBA Draft with the No. 11 overall pick in the first round and No. 43 pick in the second round. Many are quite intrigued at the potential outcomes President of Basketball Gersson Rosas could swing for tonight’s NBA draft. The most recent update regarding Minnesota comes from The New York Times’ Marc Stein, reporting Minnesota is aggressively trying to acquire the No. 4 overall pick from New Orleans. This suggests they have their sights set on Vanderbilt point guard Darius Garland, who is projected on most boards to go top seven. It makes sense why the Wolves would be highly attracted to him. Their biggest hole is a star level perimeter player that can create out of isolation and the pick-and-roll. Garland projects to be that and checks off a lot of boxes NBA executives are looking for. Restricted free agent Tyus Jones may be an otherworldly ball protector and solid team defender, but he doesn’t move the needle. The Timberwolves need a backcourt presence with a playmaking ability to complement Karl-Anthony Towns. If Rosas and co. believe Garland get there, they should go get him and pay the necessary price. The problem, however, is the Wolves just don't have much to offer. Would Saric/Okogie and No. 11 be enough? Or Covington and No. 11 if they believe Garland is the real deal? Whatever it would be, it’s fair to suggest the Celtics or Hawks - both of whom have been reported interested in the No. 4 pick -- could create a better offer. Atlanta could package No. 8 and No. 10, while the Celtics could offer multiple future first round draft picks. If not Garland, who should Rosas be eyeing? In exploring avenues the Wolves could take in the draft and free agency, acquiring restricted free agent guard D’Angelo Russell remains the best and most exciting outcome. No other player on the free agent market possesses both the upside and KAT-concentrated timeline. There is no easy path to acquiring him, as it would likely require a sign-and-trade with Brooklyn -- a team likely not wanting to take money back given their ambition to sign two max players. The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski examines in further detail how the Wolves could make a play for the all-star. If the Russell interest never materializes, the Wolves would be wise to attempt to acquire Washington’s Bradley Beal or New Orlean’s Jrue Holiday. Neither player projects to fit the timeline of their respective team’s window, making it probable each team will test the market on their all-stars. Acquiring a player of this caliber would take quite a lot from Minnesota, likely Jeff Teague (to make money work), Robert Covington, Dario Saric/Josh Okogie, and two to three future first round picks. Giving up the few assets the Wolves currently own would be incredibly risky. However, as we step into KAT’s max extension years, pairing him with an all-star caliber player is essential to raising Minnesota's ceiling and convincing him things are progressing around these parts. Could Garland or the potential No. 11 pick become that? Perhaps. But the Wolves don’t have forever to watch them develop and if they don’t (worst-case), the Towns clock in Minnesota will speed up faster than Byron Buxton on the basepaths. The Wolves need to acquire a needle mover this offseason, or, at minimum, shake things up. Consequently, they should select the player with the highest upside if they stay put at No. 11. Flip did it right by swinging for the fences and selecting Zach LaVine in 2014. The current cap-strapped Wolves will need to do the same and pray he quickly develops into the star sidekick they are looking to pair with Towns. I’m not going to pretend I know who that could be, but it suggests to be the best route if they stick at No. 11. If Rosas is unable to move up and isn't enamored with anyone at 11, there is the option to trade down and attempt to attach Jeff Teague or Gorge Dieng's contract to a deal -- which could open up space for a potential Russell sign-and-trade. Given Minnesota’s lack of upside on the current roster, their ceiling looks to be a second-round exit. If the new regime can unleash Andrew Wiggins’ potential, that changes. However, from what we’ve seen from the former No. 1 overall pick in five years here, It's fair to be skeptical of him materializing into a premier player. KAT needs a star sidekick for the Wolves to compete in an ever-improving Western Conference. Let’s hope Rosas has the kahunas (and brains!) to acquire one in the near future. Thanks for reading. Enjoy the draft. Go Wolves. |
