Timberwolves Notes: Durant interest, plus other free agents

Free agency begins in earnest at 11 p.m. Central Time on Thursday, but we’re beginning to get more of a glimpse into what the Timberwolves are looking at doing.

The talk surrounding the possibility of the Wolves showing interest in Kevin Durant is certainly out there, and to be fair, they’d be committing NBA front office malpractice if they didn’t make the call.

We talked about it on Tuesday, and we aren’t the only ones pointing out the obvious, either. Other Timberwolves blogs have discussed the notion, as well, and it’s one of the hotter topics in the Wolves blogosphere of late.

But now we have a few answers beginning to trickle in regarding what the new front office of Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden may be thinking, courtesy of Darren Wolfson.

Wolfson was asked a series of questions on Twitter today regarding free agency and Durant specifically. He responded as follows…

This makes sense, of course. Durant is more likely than not going to sign a two-year deal with an opt-out next summer to stay in Oklahoma City. With the rapidly rising salary cap, Durant can get paid more next year in OKC or with a long-term deal in a new organization.

It would give Durant a chance to see how Thibodeau’s young core gels, and see what kind of leap the likes of Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine will make this year — not to mention just how good Karl-Anthony Towns could be heading into his third season.

The Wolves will no doubt be able to land a number of second-tier free agents this summer, but Thibs would be smart to hang on a year to really see what he has before committing to any max-type players. A year from now, we’ll have a great handle on where the team is at moving forward, and free agents will likely feel the same way.

Elsewhere, Star Tribune beat writer Jerry Zgoda had a few thoughts from Thibodeau regarding the early stages of free agency.

Pretty weird situation to be in if your the Wolves/a Wolves fan. It’s not often the team can kind of kick their feet up and basically say, “We know what we have, and we’re ready when they are.”

There was also a note from Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders regarding the Wolves interest in Eric Gordon. While he’s a very good three-point shooter (38.3 percent career), he is overall inefficient and wouldn’t seem to be a great fit with the current team.

Both Wolfson and Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press have noted that Ryan Anderson could be a target as well. His skill-set fits what the Wolves need, but the price could prove to be too step for a positional skill (stretch-four) that is becoming more prominent across the league. And don’t forget, Nemanja Bjelica is still on the roster.

Next: Why Shouldn't Durant Sign With The Wolves?

We’ll be on top of any additional rumblings as we inch closer to the frenzy that will begin later in the week.