Minnesota Timberwolves: Hosting free agent camps

The Minnesota Timberwolves have reportedly held a number of veteran free agent camps in Minneapolis over the past few weeks in advance of the NBA Draft and free agency period.

While there have been zero leaks regarding whom the Minnesota Timberwolves are interested in selecting with the No. 20 pick in the upcoming draft, the Wolves have also reportedly been holding a series of workouts for veteran free agents who are looking to make a squad this fall.

These names aren’t sexy by any means, but they’re fringey NBA players who have, for the most part, had past success in the league and are looking to latch on with a team. In some cases, they may have some upside remaining.

Let’s go to Darren Wolfson for the list of names. Not all are true veterans, but none of the names below are draft-eligible.

Some of those players are more recognizable than others; Jeremy Evans is probably the most attractive of the lot. The former NBA Slam Dunk Champion has always been bouncy and athletic, and has used those characteristics to score efficiently around the rim and block a lot of shots for a player who primarily played small forward and some small-ball four.

He’s a solid defender with generally good block and steal rates, although he really only received consistent minutes in one season in Utah, back in 2013-14, and has bounced around since. He is 30 years old, and while he could step in and be a solid bench player immediately, the upside is obviously limited.

Russ Smith is already 26 years old, but has put up awesome productive everywhere he’s played since his career at Louisville ended — the G-League and both Chinese leagues haven’t been able to slow him down. (He recently appeared on Alex Kennedy’s HoopsHype podcast and talked about his attempt to return to the NBA.)

Smith has always put up impressive steal and assist rates, but his size and lack of consistent outside shooting has held him back. He should get another shot at the NBA, and it would be great to see him get that chance this year.

Jarnell Stokes is an undersized power forward who put up impressive rebounding rates in three seasons at Tennessee but has only appeared in 28 NBA games over parts of three seasons. He was a G-League All-Star in 2015-16, averaging 20.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

Stokes is still only 24 years old and would be an intriguing option as a fourth big man that could be used situationally. While his fit is tenuous in today’s NBA, he’s probably the best all around combination of skill and remaining upside of the above players.

To this point, there hasn’t been any rumors surrounding real interest from the Timberwolves in any of these players, but the way things typically work is that we’ll see some of these names resurface as we get into August and September and teams are trying to fill out their rosters. Marcus Georges-Hunt, among others, fell into this category last summer, although he is a bit younger than most of the guys listed above.

Next: The Timberwolves have an Andrew Wiggins problem

At any rate, there are at least some intriguing names in the mix. Plus, the Wolves have hosted a number of potential draftees and undrafted free agents in recent weeks as well. More to come on that later.