Nearly 36 hours into the free agency period, the Timberwolves have yet to sign anybody, although they have seemingly inquired on nearly every player out there, including veteran big man Pau Gasol.
The Timberwolves have whiffed on some of the larger, more-second-tier players like Kent Bazemore, who re-signed with Atlanta, and more recently, Luol Deng, who headed west and signed a four-year, $72 million pact with the Lakers.
According to KSTP’s Darren Wolfson, the Wolves weren’t going to touch a contract of that size for Deng. On the one hand, that certainly makes sense, but on the other hand, it makes more sense to overpay for a quality player than for a below-average contributor.
The Wolves haven’t done either as of yet, of course, but depending on how the rest of the free agency period plays out we’ll have a better sense of whether or not Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden played the Deng situation correctly or not.
The biggest name that the Timberwolves are apparently the most serious about as of Saturday morning is Chicago Bulls’ free agent Paul Gasol, although the San Antonio Spurs may have something to say about that.
Portland, Minnesota and San Antonio interested in Pau Gasol, sources say
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 2, 2016
I'm told Thibodeau had a long talk with Pau Gasol last night. Wolves pushing for him. Pau looking hard at Portland, San Antonio as well
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) July 2, 2016
Still get the sense Portland and San Antonio are out front in race for Pau Gasol's services. Even yesterday many in league expected Spurs
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) July 2, 2016
We’ll have some commentary on what a Gasol fit could look like later on Saturday, but in short: he’s a fit. The passing, rebounding, and ability to space the floor just enough next to Karl-Anthony Towns would work quite nicely.
Other players the Wolves have shown interest in include: Bismack Biyombo (from Wolfson), Jamal Crawford (Wolfson), Udonis Haslem (Ethan J. Skolnick), Ian Mahinmi (David Aldridge), Randy Foye (Jerry Zgoda), and Kris Humphries (Shams Charania).
According to Wolfson, the Wolves have checked in on over 20 players.
List well over 20 total players -- many PFs -- that Thibs and Layden have checked in on. #twolves https://t.co/g4k4vvhsxz
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) July 2, 2016
Also developing is Al Horford‘s continuing quest for a team. If he’s going to head back to Atlanta, the Hawks will need to clear some cap space after adding Dwight Howard and re-signing Bazemore for a hefty sum. Other teams in the mix include Washington, Houston, and Boston, along with a ‘mystery team’. Oklahoma City has been rumored as well, but it seems as though a lot of these second-line free agents are waiting to see where Horford (and, eventually, Kevin Durant) end up.
In other Timberwolves news, there’s some encouraging tidbits on the Ricky Rubio front.
In an interview given from the Spanish National Team camp, Rubio said that he had a “really good conversation” with Thibodeau pre-draft, and that Thibs “showed a lot of confidence” in the Spaniard.
Rubio also went on to say that he and Kris Dunn can play together, and when asked if there was a chance that he would be traded prior to the season, and Rubio said “No, there’s not.” It’s not up to him, of course, but it certainly flies in the face of the recent agent-driven speak that Rubio may want out.
Next: Kevin Garnett's Value To The Timberwolves
As mentioned, we’ll have continuing free agency coverage as well as a more in-depth look at what a Pau Gasol signing might mean for the Timberwolves.