Timberwolves are trying to bring back Shabazz Muhammad

Shabazz Muhammad has spent the past four years in a Timberwolves uniform, but it was assumed he’d sign elsewhere in free agency. But now, it’s been reported that Minnesota trying to land the forward.

Many people including myself believed that Shabazz Muhammad would of had a hotter market this off-season. The forward began the summer as a restricted free agent but had his rights renounced by the Timberwolves as they filled their cap space with other players.

Now, as an unrestricted free agent, Muhammad has the option to sign anywhere he may choose. Problem is, hardly any teams have cap space anymore.

If there is one thing that Muhammad can do, it’s score the basketball; he averaged 9.9 points per game in 19 minutes of play this past season. However, he lacks the ability to pass the ball and play defense.

Jesus Gomez from Fastbreak does a great job illustrating how poor his passing and defense is.

"“Only two other players who use over 20 percent of their team’s possessions when they’re on the court average under one assist per 36 minutes, and they’re both big men. To put it in perspective, he’s had 18 assists in 842 minutes.”"

He goes on to say this:

"“He rarely makes plays on defense, either, logging 0.4 steals per 36 minutes and 0.1 blocks. Those are ridiculously low numbers.”"

The Fastbreak article is from midway through the 2015-16 season, but not much has changed in the last year and a half. In fact Muhammad’s assist rate actually dipped to his lowest mark since his rookie campaign (3.7 percent) , and his low steal rate remained consistent at just 0.7 percent.

This, of course, is a huge reason as to why his market hasn’t been hotter than it has been. Teams are wary to give him big money, only for him to just score and not help out in other areas.

There is no doubt in my mind that he will continue to play in the NBA for years to come. His ability to score the basketball so easily and fast is too hard to pass up. Indeed, Muhammad has had some interest this off-season.

Recently, it’s been reported that Minnesota has been talking to Muhammad about coming back to Minnesota.

Minnesota does not have any cap space available for him, but, as Wolfson states, they can offer the veteran’s minimum. But, like Minnesota, many teams would gladly accept a player who can come off the bench and score in bunches for the minimum, so familiarity would appear to be the only real reason he’d return to Target Center.

Sadly, it’s been noted that he is still a long shot to rejoin forces with Minnesota. He can still earn more money from other teams, if that’s his biggest priority at the moment. He could decide that Minnesota gives him the best chance to win and ultimately decide to take the minimum here. I’m sure if other teams knew he’d be taking the minimum, that they’d be putting in their offer as well.

Back in November, Muhammad wasn’t able to come up with an extension offer from the Wolves, which caused him to become a restricted free agent. When Minnesota decided to pull their qualifying offer, he became an unrestricted free agent. However, when the extension didn’t happen, Jace Fredrick from the Pioneer Press noted he had this to say…

"“I love it here and want to be here long-term,” Muhammad said before Tuesday night’s home opener against Memphis, “so we’ll see what goes down.”"

When the season started Muhammad claimed he wanted to stay in Minnesota for years to come. Did he mean it? I guess we will find out in the next few months.

Next: 3 X-Factors For The Timberwolves This Season

Stay tuned for any updates about a possible deal between the two parties.