A guide to the Timberwolves’ pending free agents
By Paul Ibrahim
Karl-Anthony Towns
This one is a no-brainer. Towns has shown undeniable progression over the past three years, and although he was third in shots on the team this season, he managed to convert his few opportunities at a ridiculously high rate of efficiency, putting him in the conversation as one of the game’s best players.
The only inhibitor preventing him from being unanimously considered as an elite NBA player is the fact that his defense has been below replacement-level over the course of his career. In the modern NBA, rim protection is an absolutely vital part of the game, and yet, to allot more than one man to this duty is a death sentence by way of perimeter shooting. Inefficient and sub-par defense was the downfall of the Timberwolves this year, and it is my only apprehension in giving Towns $30 million a year.
However, his adroitness on the offensive side of the ball more than compensates for his defensive insufficiencies. Give him the max, no question. My only note would be that it is preferable to re-sign him this summer to protect against the possibility of the cap jumping next summer, in which case we would have to pay him a larger sum.