As July rolls on, we take a look at the Timberwolves’ current cap situation, plus Upside & Motor’s look at the best NBA Jam pairings involving Wolves players.
The Timberwolves are still a ways away from the salary floor, and their most-recent signing, Jordan Hill for two years and $8 million, didn’t do much to get them closer to reaching it.
The penalty for failing to reach the floor is minimal, and truthfully, is more or less nonexistent. If the Timberwolves don’t get there, they simply need to divide the remaining money over the players currently under contract with the team. So they’re paying the money out either way…it makes sense to not over-commit to a free agent simply to hit the floor.
At any rate, ESPN Insider’s Kevin Pelton lined out the franchises with the most remaining cap space as of this weekend. Minnesota falls fourth, behind Philadelphia ($25 million), Brooklyn ($18 million), and Denver ($17 million).
Here’s what Pelton had to say regarding the Wolves’ situation.
"Having recently signed Jordan Hill, the Timberwolves are now at 15 players under guaranteed contract, though it’s unclear whether Kevin Garnett will try to play a 22nd season. If Garnett retires, that could open another roster spot for Minnesota.The Timberwolves will want to protect next season’s potential max-level cap space. The second season of Hill’s two-year, $8 million deal is non-guaranteed."
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The bit about Hill’s contract only being guaranteed in the first year came out last week and was not known when the news of the signing was originally reported. It’s a significant detail, and is another sign pointing to the Wolves saving as much cap space as possible for the summer of 2017.
At this point, the only way that another player is added would be through a trade, and would be synced-up with Garnett’s retirement or a buyout for either KG or Nikola Pekovic.
Elsewhere, FanSided’s own Upside & Motor posted a fun article that details out five of the best combinations of under-22 NBA players for the classic NBA Jam video game. And somewhat predictably, three of the five combinations involved Wolves players.
Zach LaVine was paired up with Orlando’s Aaron Gordon in an ultra-athletic, no-defense duo, while Karl-Anthony Towns was matched with New Orleans rookie swingman Buddy Hield. While this match-up would work (truthfully, Towns could pair with almost anyone and be dominant in this two-on-two scenario), we have no idea what kind of player Hield will be at the NBA level.
Lastly, Andrew Wiggins saw himself alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo — perhaps about as long and athletic of a pairing as is possible. It’s an odd match, as neither is a good outside shooter and if Antetokounmpo is playing point guard (he does have a better handle than Wiggins), that means that Wiggins has to be in the paint more than he’s generally comfortable with.
Next: Karl-Anthony Towns Has Had A Crazy Summer
Be sure to head over to the link above and check out what the folks over at Upside & Motor did with the player ratings, emojis, etc. It’s a very creative and well-done piece, so please enjoy it.