Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 sensible in-house contract moves

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SACRAMENTO, CA – FEBRUARY 26: Gorgui Dieng #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves attempts a free-throw shot against the Sacramento Kings on February 26, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. 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 Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Timberwolves power foward/center, Gorgui Dieng, was one of the more disappointing players on the Wolves this year. Dieng signed a $63 million dollar contract extension in the fall of 2016, with much of Minnesota actually excited about the deal and Dieng’s potential.

from the 2014-15 season until the 2016-17 season, the stat sheet from Dieng was relatively the same each year, pretty much a 10 PPG and 8 rebound game every night. Unfortunately, Dieng’s minutes were cut in a dramatic fashion from coach Thibs, who dropped them from 32.8 to 16.9 during this 2017-18 campaign.

Dieng will make $15-17 million over the next few seasons and won’t be a free agent until the summer of 2021 – making him a severe liability. Not just contractually, but just as a roster/scheme fit, Dieng doesn’t play as smoothly with his new surrounding cast – much different from the Ricky Rubio era. We’ve seen unmovable contracts be traded numerous times, one of the more recent ones being, Timofey Mozgov.

Timofey Mozgov being traded from the Lakers to the Nets was one of the more surprising moves last offseason. Mozgov will be making $16 million until the summer of 2020, so it’s a really comparable situation considering the lack of need for a big man like Mozgov and Dieng in the current NBA climate. In that situation, the Lakers had to move their young point guard, D’Angelo Russell, to get Mozgov’s contract out of Los Angeles, which ended up working perfectly for the Lakers – who are now heavily pursuing Paul George and LeBron James and have a plethora of young talent.

There are several ways to get Dieng out of Minnesota, one being to trade him and a first round pick to a team that has cap, like the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic, and several others. If not a draft pick, either Tyus Jones or Nemanja Bjeclica may have to get moved with Dieng, due to the fact they are suitable and attractive role players on really cheap deals.

What’s the likelihood of Dieng getting moved? If he had any star value, it’s pretty much been washed away because of this season, but it’s better to sell now than wait for a potential bench role during the 2018-19 season – so expect trade rumors during draft night.