Tonight is the night free agency begins (or tomorrow if you are overseas or in the Eastern Time Zone). As a Minnesota Timberwolves fun, I am pumped. Following the trade for Jimmy Butler, the Wolves have announced to the league that they are serious about winning. It has been a long drought in between playoff berths, the longest in the NBA as a matter of fact (2003-04). We have endured so much garbage throughout the years, we deserve this. In the 2009-10 season opener, the Wolves started Corey Brewer, Jonny Flynn, Damien Wilkins, Al Jefferson and Ryan Gomes. Seriously. Not surprisingly, Minnesota went 15-67. This trade for Butler has rejuvenated the fanbase and the Timberwolves have now not only put themselves in the playoffs, but could challenge for a top four seed in the West and possible division title.
Even with the Butler trade, Minnesota still has a number of needs. Heading into the draft, the Timberwolves needed to upgrade shooting, perimeter defense, interior defense and depth. The Wolves upgraded perimeter defense in a big way with the trade for Butler, but could use some more. However, as good as Jimmy Buckets is, he is not a good 3-point shooter (career 34 percent shooter from deep). One of the things Tom Thibodeau has to figure out is whether to go all in on another star (Kyle Lowry?) or focus all of his attention on improving the bench, which was very poor last year and may lose forward Shabazz Muhammad. Minnesota was dead last in bench scoring last season, scoring less than 23 points per game. Granted, the loss of Zach LaVine hurt the bench as Brandon Rush had to start for much of the year. Hopefully Butler’s defense wears off on Andrew Wiggins, who struggles defensively. Maybe under a veteran like Butler, Wiggins will improve drastically. It didn’t help Wiggins that LaVine was also a matador on that side of the ball as well.
Another question asked is involving point guard Ricky Rubio. To trade or not to trade? That is the question. Obviously, Minnesota would have to have a deal done with another point guard if it intends to trade the Spaniard. All the Wolves have behind Rubio right now is Tyus Jones, and Glen Taylor has admitted that if their starting point guard goes down, they are in trouble if Jones has to slide into the starting role. There are a handful of teams interested in Rubio, but there are so many solid point guards in free agency that they may look at trading for him if they strike out on one of the top point guards in free agency. One thing to think about is that any trade will have to go through owner Glen Taylor, who LOVES Rubio.
Now, onto free agency. Minnesota will likely have just under $20 million to spend in free agency. Unfortunately, $20 million does not get you what it used to. Last year, Timofey Mosgov was signed to a 4-year $64 million contract by the Lakers. The year before getting the new contract, Mosgov scored 6.2 points and grabbed 4.4 rebounds per game. That guy was paid $16 mil per year. Los Angeles couldn’t wait to get rid of his contract this offseason. Obviously, they could free up some cap if they do indeed trade Rubio. Butler has stated that he is reaching out to free agents to possibly come here. Darren Wolfson mentioned the Timberwolves are going to reach out to guards Kyle Lowry, J.J. Redick and forwards Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Kyle Korver, Andre Iguodala and Taj Gibson tonight as soon as free agency opens.
Out of those, two are unrealistic, I think. Iguodala probably wants one last pay day, but I don’t see the Wolves paying $20 mil for him. He is coming off another NBA championship with Golden State and many think he will go back to the Warriors, which will open as the biggest title favorite ever. If he doesn’t, other teams will massively overpay for his services. Redick is also looking for about $20 million per year and I think he will look elsewhere.
Kyle Lowry will be interesting. He could be paid a monster contract to stay in Toronto, but Butler recruited him to Chicago before being traded to Minnesota. Lowry is a terrific shooter and a very good defender. The former Villanova Wildcat has made the All-Star game the last three years and led Toronto to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2016. Lowry could make monster money, but ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Sirius that Lowry may take a cut and sign with a contender for $25 million per. I would love to take a “pay cut” and sign for that kind of money. Other point guards the Wolves are rumored to have interest in are Jeff Teague, Jrue Holiday and George Hill, but they are worried about Holiday’s injury history and Hill is not coming to Minnesota. Teague may be a possibility, but they are focused on Lowry at the moment.
When it comes to shooters outside of Redick, Minnesota is looking at Dunleavy and Korver. The problem is that both are a liability defensively when in the game. However, they are both great shooters, which is what Minnesota desperately needs. The Wolves seem to be one of the only teams in on Dunleavy and may have a great shot at signing him at a fairly cheap contract. Last year, Dunleavy averaged 5.6 points in 15.8 minutes per game, but he shot 43 percent from deep last year and is a career 38 percent shooter from downtown. He will be 37 by the time season starts, so I doubt he will be very expensive, especially considering his injury history. Korver, on the other hand, is probably going to command between $10-15 million per season. The Ashton Kutcher look-alike is one of the best 3-point shooters to ever play, which makes him an attractive target and the Wolves will overlook his poor defense. Korver will turn 37 during the upcoming season, so he is looking for one more nice contract before retirement. He shot nearly 49 percent from 3-point territory last season and is a career 43 percent shooter from long range. There will be other suitors, so he may end up being more than the Wolves are willing to spend.
The last guy who Thibodeau is reaching out to is Gibson, one of his former players. I honestly believe he will be a Wolf. Obviously, I have no inside information, but he would be a perfect fit. He knows Tibs from when he was with Chicago, he is a very solid defensive player and Minnesota has a need for a third big to go along with Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng. Gibson is averaging nearly 10 points per game and more than six rebounds in his career, basically all of it was in Chicago and some were with Thibodeau. In addition to his good defense I told you about above, he has a solid mid range shot. He would be a terrific fit for the Timberwolves, and he is one of the top guys I want Minnesota to sign. He would be a great player to have come off the bench.
It should be a fun offseason for the Wolves, especially now that they have expectations and are a destination for free agents after the Butler trade. This will be the last offseason for awhile the team will actually have money to spend since Wiggins is a free agent after next season and Towns the year after that. I would not be surprised if Cole Aldrich is traded since his contract is not guaranteed after this season and a team looking for cap space for next offseason could deal for Aldrich. No matter what happens over the next month or so, one thing is for certain. It sure is fun being relevant again!
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