Welcome to Episode Two in a series of posts examining the rosters of recently-eliminated playoff teams and determining whether or not any pending free agents on their roster could be a fit with the Timberwolves in 2017-18.
On the heels of a fairly busy piece examining the Indiana Pacers pending free agents, we arrive at another eighth-seed that was swept out of the playoffs in the Portland Trail Blazers. But, contrary to the Pacers, this is one roster that isn’t likely to change all that much.
Indeed, virtually the Blazers’ entire rotation will be under contract come fall. Portland agreed to a contract extension with former second-round pick C.J. McCollum last summer, avoiding what would have been a difficult open market situation in the summer of 2017, and everyone else on the current roster is under contract for at least one more year.
The likes of Damian Lillard, Allen Crabbe, Evan Turner, Maurice Harkless, and Meyers Leonard are all locked up through at least 2020. That’s the guts of the team, and they were just swept as the #8 seed in the conference, so…it could be worse, Wolves fans.
At any rate, that leaves only Festus Ezeli, Pat Connaughton, and Tim Quarterman with non-guaranteed contracts in 2017-18. Nobody on the roster is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
We won’t discuss Quarterman, as he’s an undrafted rookie who appeared in just 16 games last year.
On to Ezeli and Connaughton…
Festus Ezeli
Ezeli did not play in a single game during 2016-17 after signing a one-year, $7.4 million contract with Portland. He never recovered from knee surgery and missed his second full season in five years as an NBA player.
The former Golden State Warrior appeared in just 46 games each of the previous two seasons with Golden State, meaning that he’s played in only 92 games over the past four seasons — just 28 percent of possible contests.
When he has played, the 6′-11″ Ezeli has been a solid defensive force and a decent per-minute contributor on offense as well. Still just 27 years old, there will no doubt be a scramble for his services at a reasonable price.
It’s tough to see him as an option in Minnesota, however, as there are some redundancies to Cole Aldrich, a summer of 2016 signing who saw the floor sparingly under Tom Thibodeau this season. Coach Thibs doesn’t seem to be a low-risk, high-reward type guy as an executive, either, although we don’t fully know that as of yet.
Pat Connaughton
The four-year player (and minor league baseball player) from Notre Dame completed his second season with Portland. A second-round draft pick in 2015, Connaughton has appeared in 73 games over his two seasons but has averaged just 6.3 minutes per game in the contests during which he’s seen the floor.
Connaughton improved his three-point shooting percentage each year at Notre Dame until he shot 42.3 percent from beyond the arc as senior. He’s made 22 of his 54 attempts (40.7 percent) from long-range in the NBA, as well, so there’s reason to believe that the sharpshooting will transfer.
An athletic 6′-5″ shooting guard, there’s reason to believe that Connaughton could be a reasonable “three-and-D” option, although it remains to be seen if he’s more than a 10th-man. He could very well return to Portland on what would be a reasonable $1.4 million deal, or if he is allowed to walk, Connaughton could very well latch on with another team at a similar cost.
Next: Timberwolves Free Agency: Indiana Pacers Edition
All the above to say…the Wolves are not likely to sign either Festus Ezeli or Pat Connaughton. And barring a trade, it seems to be a near certainty that there will not be any members of the 2016-17 Portland Trail Blazers on the roster of the 2017-18 Timberwolves.