Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 sensible in-house contract moves

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HOUSTON, TX – APRIL 25: Head Coach Tom Thibodeau of the Minnesota Timberwolves speaks to the media after Game Five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Houston Rockets during the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 25, 2018 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images) /

There have been a lot of recent talks about how the Minnesota Timberwolves need to fight for big free agents, or make trades for All-Star’s, but let’s try and keep everything in-house for once.

With the current Minnesota Timberwolves‘ roster, let’s assume that the team keeps their Head Coach, Tom Thibodeau, and their core young guys – Andrew Wiggins, Jimmy Butler, and Karl-Anthony Towns. What three moves would have to happen this offseason to better that core and the rest of the franchise?

Contractually, it’ll be very difficult for Minnesota to fight for any of the All-Star usual suspects that will be up for the taking this offseason, but maybe not for the near future. Names like Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and others have been in trade talks, or sign-and-trade talks, throughout the year. It’s almost impossible to contractually fit these players in a roster with the young core of Minnesota due to the highly criticized contracts Minnesota already possesses with some of their role players.

If Minnesota decides to go down another route and focus on adding more depth through reliable role players like Robert Covington, Wayne Ellington, Fred Vanvleet, or others. How else do the Wolves expect to do that by not freeing any cap? It’s a large problem for Minnesota and for the near future of their franchise. The end goal of these moves would be for the Wolves to free enough cap so they can go after some new young talent and build their depth, or even some stars.

What needs to happen to help this team move along? These three moves would give the Timberwolves $50 million in cap relief without losing much talent, why not do it?