Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: Rubio, Teague, and more rumors

Friday saw the Timberwolves trade Ricky Rubio, agree to sign Jeff Teague, and be named in rumors for nearly every key free agent on the market. What will the weekend bring?

Late on Friday afternoon, the Timberwolves traded Ricky Rubio to the Utah Jazz in exchange for a lottery-protected 2018 first-round draft pick via the Oklahoma City Thunder. Other teams, such as the New York Knicks, were reportedly unwilling to give up a first-round pick for Rubio.

Immediate reaction to the trade was essentially: this is a great move for Utah and a wait-and-see for the Wolves, depending on what happens with the cap space (and, to a lesser extent, the draft pick). Kevin Pelton of ESPN rated the trade here (Insider required), and this FiveThirtyEight article was updated after the Rubio trade to surmise that the Wolves could win 50-58 games, depending on which point guard would be added to replace Rubio.

The immediate rumors following the trade surrounded Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry and Indiana Pacers point guard Jeff Teague. As the evening wore on, it became apparent that Teague was the Timberwolves’ target.

Updated intel on Minnesota front: expectation from folks who would know is that Jeff Teague is heavy, heavy favorite with T-Wolves.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) June 30, 2017

The Knicks have abandoned their hopes of meeting with Jeff Teague, league sources say, convinced Teague has already committed to Minnesota
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 30, 2017

Sure enough, as the clock ticked to 11:01 p.m. Central Time and free agency officially opened, the Teague agreement was announced by both Yahoo and ESPN.

As soon as that happened, Wolves fans were treated to a flurry of rumors.

Source close to free agent Paul Millsap says Denver and Minnesota have emerged as frontrunners. Sacramento and Phoenix still in the mix.
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) July 1, 2017

Woj on ESPN: Wolves "aggressive" in pursuing J.J. Redick, but he's meeting with Philly tonight. MIN open for 3-4 year deal, which JJ likes.
— Dunking With Wolves (@DunkingWolvesFS) July 1, 2017

Our friend Darren Wolfson tweeted out the names of former Timberwolf Anthony Tolliver and Minnesota native Mike Muscala as potential backup big men, although both players will have multiple suitors. And, a pair of new names.

#Twolves will inquire on a number of FAs the next many hours. Two fresh names on their radar, I hear: bigs Ekpe Udoh and Dewayne Dedmon. pic.twitter.com/M8VfrAiwTj
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) July 1, 2017

While those names may not excite the casual Timberwolves fans, they would all be solid depth plays on varying levels. No, they’re not better than Gorgui Dieng (or even Nemanja Bjelica in some cases), but there’s plenty of opportunities for the team to get better — they need 14 guys, right?

Wolfson also threw out C.J. Miles as a ‘Plan C or D’ option for the Wolves. If Thibodeau is nervous about giving J.J. Redick the years and/or money he’s seeking, could they sign a power forward (Patrick Patterson?) and pick up shooting (Kyle Korver? C.J. Miles?) and defense (P.J. Tucker?) with the cap space?

Next: Will Justin Patton See The Floor In 2017?

Stay tuned, Wolves fans. We’ll have coverage throughout the weekend as we hope to learn more about the free agency strategy of Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden.