Minnesota Timberwolves roundtable: Analyzing Shabazz Muhammad signing

The Minnesota Timberwolves roundtable discusses the recent signing of Shabazz Muhammad and analyzes which remaining free agent would be the best fit.

1. What’s your overall take on the Timberwolves signing Shabazz Muhammad?

Gerald Bourguet via Hoops Habit (@GeraldBourguet): For the veteran minimum, it’s a pretty great pickup. Shabazz Muhammad put up 9.9 points in just 19.4 minutes per game last year, and though he only shot a paltry 33.6 percent from 3-point range, he converted 48.2 percent of his looks overall.

For a shorthanded Timberwolves bench (Minnesota only has 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts for the 2017-18 season), Muhammad brings a scoring punch and should be plenty motivated playing on a one-year deal to prove himself, either to the Wolves or another prospective buyer.

More from Dunking with Wolves

• The dream starting 5 for Minnesota Timberwolves 5 years from now
• Anthony Edwards’ latest accolade is a great sign of things to come
• In an OT thriller, Team Canada snatches Bronze from Team USA
• Timberwolves start, bench, cut: Mike Conley, Shake Milton, Jordan McLaughlin
• Which Timberwolves roster additions have upgraded the bench?

Dan Favale via Bleacher Report (@danfavale):

I think the only take to have here is something alone the lines of: This is fine (minus the burning house). The Timberwolves need another wing to come off the bench, and they’re getting someone who’s more than a minimum talent at the actual minimum. That’s quality value.

But Muhammad doesn’t give them anything on the defensive end, and you essentially need to play him around three to four other second-stringers, just so he’s not looking off rotation players who really, truly, totally matter.

My other thought: Retaining his Bird rights is both good and bad. If for some reason he has a breakout campaign, the Timberwolves will be able to keep him. But if this is one of those situations that portends a new contract no matter what, I’m not as warm to the idea. They shouldn’t pay him just because he took a discount in a market that wasn’t going to pay him much more anyway.

Brian Sampson via Dunking With Wolves (@BrianSampsonNBA): I’m admittedly not a big fan of Muhammad. He’s an inefficient scorer who can’t rebound, pass or play defense very well. Supporters will point to his 3-point percentage as proof he can help spread the floor. I kindly point them to the 0.1 attempts per game he took when a defender was within four feet of him last season. That reinforces what my eyes tell me, he has a slow release and isn’t able to get his shot off with a defender closing in on him.

That’s not to say he doesn’t have his strengths. For the veteran minimum, this is a great re-acquisition. He can slash to the floor and will likely play limited minutes for the team next season (more on that next question). He was undoubtedly one of the better remaining players on the market.

2. Will Muhammad see an over/under of 17 minutes per game next season?

Gerald: Muhammad averaged 19.4 minutes per game last year, so even with Jamal Crawford and Taj Gibson joining the bench mob, he should be playing more than 17 minutes per game in 2017-18. He’s going to be on a mission to maximize his earnings next summer, which should lead to a career year for him. If that’s the case, Tom Thibodeau will have no choice but to play him, even if he’s infamous for riding his starters into oblivion.

Dan: Taking the under here.

Sure, the Timberwolves are still light on wings. But they’re also heavy on bigs. There won’t be many instances in which they are playing three-wing lineups, with Karl-Anthony Towns at the 5. They’ll be limited to around two per lineup, as Tom Thibodeau strives to balance the logjam up front with Gorgui Dieng, Taj Gibson, Justin Patton, Cole Aldrich and Towns.

With Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins soaking up a lion’s share of the minutes at the 2 and 3, there won’t be room, barring injuries, for Muhammad to crack much more than 15 ticks per game.

Brian: I’m going to take the under. After seeing a career-high 22.8 minutes per game in 2014-15 they have dipped slightly each of the past two seasons. At this point, the league knows what he is. And that’s a player who’s only meant to play sporadically. Any more than that and he will be extremely vulnerable.

As noted above, Thibodeau is noted for playing his starters a lot. There are not many reasons Muhammad will see the floor over Andrew Wiggins or Jimmy Butler at the 3 or Gorgui Dieng or Taj Gibson at the 4.

3. Which of the remaining free agents do you think is the best fit for this roster?

Gerald: Tony Allen would’ve been a great fit, but at this point in time, one name that probably isn’t coming up enough is Leandro Barbosa, who the Phoenix Suns let go at the end of the season. Barbosa still has plenty left in the tank and didn’t play much for a rebuilding Suns team, but still managed to put up 6.3 points in 14.4 minutes per game. He’s only one year removed from being a key bench piece for the mighty Golden State Warriors, and his veteran influence would be terrific for Minnesota’s young roster, even if he wouldn’t play much at age 34.

Dan: It has to be Dante Cunningham. He’s the closest thing to a combo forward on the open market—a luxury the Wolves don’t really have unless they believe Wiggins has the chops to absorb spot minutes at the 4.

Cunningham, of course, isn’t a game-changer. But he’s more playable than Nemanja Bjelica right now.
Even if he doesn’t replicate his career-best 39.2 percent clip from deep, he still has the lateral gait to pester wings and the sneaky girth to body up against more traditional, plodding 4s. If the Timberpups can pick him up, the quality of an already good offseason is that much higher, since he’d end up being more valuable to them, in my opinion, than Gibson, Muhammad or even Jamal Crawford.

Brian: Call me crazy, but Deron Williams would be a nice fit with this roster. He showed that he still had something left in the tank last season at 32-years-old and could help Minnesota this year. He’s certainly at a point where he needs to play limited minutes to be effective and that’s exactly what he would get in Minnesota.

Next: 5 things to know about Karl-Anthony Towns

The veteran point guard shot 41.5 percent from downtown with the Cleveland Cavaliers which will certainly help their spacing. Also, with the team having two smaller points, he would bring a different look with his bigger frame. I haven’t heard his name connected with the Timberwolves at all, so I highly doubt it happens.