Welcome to Part One of the Timberwolves Player Review series: a look back at what Nikola Pekovic brought to the table in 2016.
Nikola Pekovic is the first player we’re studying in the 2016 off-season for one reason and one reason alone — he played the fewest minutes of any player to don a Timberwolves jersey in 2015-16.
The former borderline All-Star only managed to play 156 minutes over 12 games, including three starts. He underwent Achilles’ debridement surgery last spring and returned on the front end of a nine-to-15 month recovery timetable this January.
Current Timberwolves Vice President of Sports Performance Arnie Kander claims that Pek ‘will be Nikola Pekovic again’, and that the reason he was knocked out of the lineup again in February due to soreness caused by compensation.
Pekovic’s heel became sore, causing him to lose strength in his calf. Kander made the decision to not push the hulking center and risk more severe reinjury, so Pek was consequently shutdown for the rest of the season.
It remains to be seen how much Pekovic will be able to recover over the off-season, and exactly how the Timberwolves’ front office views his role (and roster spot) moving forward. Of course, we already know that the Wolves will have a new head coach in a matter of weeks, and almost surely a new head of basketball operations, regardless of whether or not current general manager Milt Newton is allowed to stay on board.
More from Dunking with Wolves
- The dream starting 5 for Minnesota Timberwolves 5 years from now
- Anthony Edwards’ latest accolade is a great sign of things to come
- In an OT thriller, Team Canada snatches Bronze from Team USA
- Timberwolves start, bench, cut: Mike Conley, Shake Milton, Jordan McLaughlin
- Which Timberwolves roster additions have upgraded the bench?
Pekovic’s massive contract only has two years remaining, albeit at value of $12.1 million in 2016-17 and $11.6 million in 2017-18. It will not be an easy contract to move, although after the upcoming season there will be a much higher salary cap ceiling and Pek’s contract will be down to just one year.
If Pekovic is indeed able to return to form and provide a maximum of 15-20 minutes of backup play at the center position, he would be a valuable rotation piece. While he doesn’t profile as a prototypical backup center (mostly because he doesn’t protect the rim), a majority of NBA teams would love to have a bruiser who averaged 15.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game over four relatively healthy seasons as a starter.
Of course, when Pekovic played in 2016, he was not the same player. Some of that can be attributed to rust, and some can be attributed to apparently not being completely healed from surgery. But keep in mind that 2016-17 will be his age-31 season, and he’s a gigantic man with foot and ankle problems that depends on his ability to be nimble and agile in the post.
A player who shot 64.8 percent from with three feet of the basket over the first four years of his career has shot just 53.3 percent in 43 games over the past two campaigns, according to Basketball-Reference.com. That’s a hugely significant drop-off for a center, even if it is still a smallish sample size.
At this point, it seems likely that Pekovic will be stuck on the roster next year. Best case is that he can play 15-20 minutes in a majority of games next year as a rotational big, proving that he’s healthy. Then the Wolves would likely be able to move him over the summer of 2017 as they solidify what should be a contending roster from that point forward.
Next: The Timberwolves Coaching Search Begins...
The fact that Gorgui Dieng played solid minutes at power forward for much of the second half of the season only increases the chances of Pek staying on the roster for the time being, but the Wolves will eventually need the cap space and the roster spot.