Timberwolves 2015-16 Roster – Who’s in and who’s out?

Mar 23, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard Elijah Millsap (13) defends against Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins (22) during the overtime period at EnergySolutions Arena. Minnesota won in overtime 106-104. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Small Forwards

I mentioned in the previous slide that Minnesota has eight wings under contract. In addition to the four shooting guards, the Wolves have four small forwards — Andrew Wiggins, Shabazz Muhammad, Chase Budinger, and Robbie Hummel.

Definitely Returning Next Season

Andrew Wiggins – 20 years old; signed through 2017-’18 season; due $19.34 million

• RFA in 2018
• It doesn’t even have to be discussed why Wiggins is coming back. He’ll be the Rookie of the Year this season, and he deserves to win unanimously. Wiggins is the most important player to Minnesota Timberwolves basketball since Kevin Garnett. He’ll be around for a long, long time.

Shabazz Muhammad – 22 years old; signed through 2016-’17 season; due $5.1 million

• RFA in 2017
• Shabazz took a big step forward this season. His season-ending finger injury suffered in practice was a disappointment because of the wonderful season Bazz was having. He will be an important, high energy reserve for many Timberwolves playoff teams to come. He’ll be back next year.

Probably Will Be Back

Robbie Hummel – 26 years old; RFA this offseason; $1.1 million qualifying offer

• Hummel has been valuable to the Wolves as he can play multiple positions and works hard. I tend to think less highly of him as a basketball player than most people do, but the Wolves seem to like him and will want him back at the right price. I’d be surprised if he turned down the qualifying offer if Minnesota gives it to him.

I Have Absolutely No Clue

Chase Budinger – 26 years old; $5 million player option for 2015-’16 season

• If the Wolves could have traded Budinger this season, they would have. There wasn’t much real interest because Chase reportedly refused to waive his player option for next season, and $5 million will be way more than he’s worth. However, he’s played really well recently (15.8 PPG, 54.5% shooting over his last eight games). If that continues for the rest of the season, he may either opt out or generate some trade interest.

Next: Power Forwards and Centers