Free agency is more than 48 hours old, and many of the top-tier free agents with whom the Timberwolves were rumored to have interest have been signed by other teams.
When free agency began on Thursday evening, the Timberwolves were reported to have interest in the likes of Luol Deng and Kent Bazemore, two of the top free agents on the market after Kevin Durant and Al Horford.
Deng ultimately signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, and Bazemore re-upped with the Atlanta Hawks for a hefty fee.
E’Twaun Moore was another name that hit the Twittersphere early on Friday morning as a possible target for the Wolves. It made sense, as he had played for Tom Thibodeau in Chicago, and would be a solid fit as a combo guard off the bench. But he ultimately received a four-year contract from the New Orleans Pelicans.
On Saturday morning, Pau Gasol emerged as a top target for the Timberwolves, although the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers appeared to be ahead of Minnesota in Gasol’s mind. There was also some brief hope for Charlotte’s Marvin Williams, but the power forward ultimately re-signed with the Hornets.
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In addition to Gasol, the above-linked article names the following players as possible Wolves targets: 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).
As of late on Saturday, Biyombo (Orlando) and Mahinmi (Washington) had each found new homes, while the others are all still on the market. Other players the Wolves had been rumored to be interested in who have already signed elsewhere include Ryan Anderson (Houston), Anthony Tolliver (Sacramento), and Courtney Lee (New York).
But let’s be clear: a 36 year-old Jamal Crawford or a bench talent like Haslem, Foye, or Humphries is, quite simply, not a significant bounty when it comes to NBA free agency. And many expected Minnesota to be aggressive and to assert themselves as aggressive players on the market this summer.
They haven’t, of course, but which of the above-mentioned players would have been a good fit at the contracts they signed? Deng, Williams, and Lee, certainly. But Bazemore was a pretty clear overpay, and Moore is a sixth-man-type, at best. Biyombo wasn’t a perfect fit and was never a top target, and Mahinmi would also have been an overpay and wouldn’t necessarily have been a synergistic piece.
Anderson was a big-time overpay, and Tolliver is, well, Tolliver — a nice player but the sort of piece that isn’t all too hard to find whenever and wherever it’s needed to augment the roster.
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Realistically, the Wolves were never going to be big players in the 2016 free agency market. The summer of 2017 is in the sights of Thibodeau and Scott Layden, to be sure, but 2016 is simply premature.
The roster needs work, of course, but adding, say, Gasol, Humphries, and a shooter like a Leandro Barbosa or someone who can hit from long-range in the high-30’s-percent range would be enough to keep this team in the playoffs conversation. Next summer, the Timberwolves could then be serious players for any number of potential max-contract stars.
Now isn’t the time to panic, Wolves fans. It’s time to remember that your squad has a top-four coach in Tom Thibodeau, a top-20 player (and 20 year-old, reigning Rookie of the Year!) in Karl-Anthony Towns, a pair of promising, athletic freaks on the wing in Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine, and a top-12 point guard in Ricky Rubio to stir the drink.
Next: Should The Timberwolves Sign Pau Gasol?
There’s better days ahead, regardless of whether or not Thibs had spent $70 million on Kent Bazemore.