As free agency begins at midnight EST time tonight, I will take a look at what the Timberwolves could do in free agency. With the cap going up, they will have roughly $29 million in cap space to play with, but will need to spend wisely, mostly with shorter contracts due to players like Gorgui Dieng and Andrew Wiggins being due new contracts shortly.
Drafting Kris Dunn fills the need of a backup point guard Minnesota desperately needed. I do not think the Timberwolves will trade Ricky Rubio, at least this offseason. However, next offseason could be a different story. But as of now, unless a team blows the Wolves away in a trade offer after failing to sign Mike Conley in free agency, I see Rubio back in a Wolves uniform this upcoming season.
The two biggest needs heading into this free agency are shooting and another big man. With Joakim Noah reportedly going to get an $18 million per year offer from the New York Knicks, the market has now been set. If Noah does indeed get that, it will be interesting to see what Dwight Howard and Hassan Whiteside are able to get since they are both better at this point than Noah. Minnesota is interested in the former Chicago big man, but will not get in a bidding war to sign him.
One player the Wolves are interested in is power forward Ryan Anderson. He would help out in both categories. He is not a good defender, which the Wolves need, but he is a career 38 percent 3-point shooter. Anderson would command a significant amount, as he was coming off a 17 point per game season. Brandon Bass is a less expensive option that has been talked about as a possible Minnesota target as well, as is Minnesotan Kris Humphries.
As far as shooting goes, the Wolves are rumored to be interested in many wings. First off, while D.J. Augustin is a point guard, he would significantly help the shooting on the team and would be able excel off the ball playing with terrific passers in Rubio and Dunn. Randy Foye had a down season a year ago, but he would be a less expensive option. He only shot 30 percent from 3-point land last season, but shoots at a 37 percent clip from there in his career. Reigning Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford could be an option as well, as could Courtney Lee and Eric Gordon
One other player to watch for is Luol Deng. I don't know if he would come to Minnesota and he would be an expensive option, but he would be a big-time get for the Wolves. He is a versatile small forward who can play power forward at times and played for Tom Thibodeau in Chicago.
Whatever happens, this will be a wild free agency. With the cap increase, this summer will be a free-for-all. The Wolves will not sign one of the big fish like Kevin Durant, Conley or Whiteside, but with the bench being a trainwreck a season ago, I expect the Wolves to sign some solid bench players this summer. I will take a stab at who the Wolves will sign in free agency. I will without question be wrong, but I will predict the Timberwolves sign D.J. Augustin, Courtney Lee and Kris Humphries, although I could see the Wolves signing two big men and one guard.
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