Now that the draft is over, it’s time to shift our focus to free agency. Here are five options at the center position for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Minnesota Timberwolves had their first successful season in over 13 years.
Of course, a lot of that had to do with their drastic efforts to reboot the franchise by trading for Jimmy Butler and signing free agents such as Jeff Teague, Taj Gibson, Jamal Crawford among others.
But the Wolves still have a lot of work to improve. The biggest need for the Wolves include defense, 3-point shooting and depth, and it at least appears as though Minnesota did a great job on draft night to help shore up all three of those issues.
The Timberwolves drafted Georgia Tech guard Josh Okogie and Ohio State forward Keita Bates-Diop. Both of these players play defense, can shoot the ball from three and should fix some depth issues, which is especially important since the Wolves biggest depth deficiency stems from the guard and forward positions beyond Andrew Wiggins and Jimmy Butler.
Still, we don’t know for sure how well those rookies will do or even develop for the next few seasons. Free agency is where teams must fix any remaining issues for the upcoming season.
With July 1 marking the first day of the free agency frenzy, things will be underway before we know it. Everyone wants the big name free agents, but realistically that isn’t going to happen for most teams. Add in the fact that the Wolves don’t have a ton of money to spend this summer, and that leaves us with some of the smaller names that will fly under the radar.
Sadly, Minnesota won’t be able to try and go after the likes of Clint Capela, DeMarcus Cousins, and DeAndre Jordan, but that’s okay. There are still plenty of solid players that can be had for cheap. Plus, if Justin Patton, last year’s rookie can come back and play some minutes, then that’ll really be a major addition to the team.
With all that in mind, let’s take a look at five center free agents that the Wolves should target this summer.
5. Greg Monroe
Greg Monroe has always seemed to be in the middle of switching teams.
Since being the seventh-overall pick back in 2010, Monroe has played for four different organizations — three of which have come since 2015.
Could Monroe find himself on a new team once again for the 2018-19 season? Quite possibly. The Wolves would be perfect suitors for the veteran center out of Georgetown.
Minnesota has had a hard time finding a legit backup center and Monroe fits that mold. However, at 6-foot-11 and 265 pounds, he’s always struggled somewhat on defense.
In his career, he’s averaged 1.1 steals and 0.6 blocks per game, and while for the most part he is a fairly mobile center, you’d think that with all that talent and size he’d be better on that end of the floor.
Despite being a poor defender, Monroe has good offensive skills. He may not be able to shoot the ball, but he can bully people down low and use his athleticism to put the ball in the net.
In 2017-18 with the Celtics, he averaged 10.3 points and 6.9 rebounds. Having Monroe come off the bench would allow Minnesota to have that natural center to come in and bully people, which is something they’ve seemed to lack since the days of Nikola Pekovic.
4. Kyle O’Quinn
Kyle O’Quinn is the exact opposite to Monroe in terms of how they play, but is probably a better fit for the team and today’s NBA.
At 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds, O’Quinn is an athletic guy who provides a huge energy boost when he is on the floor, always finding ways to get the ball or score off scraps around the rim.. He’s a gritty player who isn’t afraid of getting phyiscial with his opponents.
Of course, O’Quinn doesn’t have the shooting range that most teams look for these days, but he does have a little more range than Monroe; he has attempted 103 career threes over his six seasons in the league, making just 23 (22.3 percent).
He’s still 28, so there is a little room to grow, but probably not much. Getting O’Quinn would essentially snagging an energy player that would provide an edge on defense that the Timberwolves are largely lacking.
Plus, wouldn’t his beard look good in those bright, neon green uniforms? I think so.
O’Quinn averaged 7.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 blocks and 0.5 steals per game a year ago in New York. With those contributions and rugged defense, he’d be a great addition off of what is looking like a depleted bench.
3. Nerlens Noel
Nerlens Noel always seems to be in the middle of the conversation when it comes to targets the Timberwolves should consider, dating back to when he entered the league in 2014, and understandably so; he’s a perfect fit for what the Wolves want and need.
Granted, Minnesota does need shooting and Noel provides none of that. But what he does add is energy, athleticism and defense. And personally, I think Noel has a lot higher ceiling than what he’s been given because he’s never really been given the chance.
He was the sixth pick in the 2014 draft out of Kentucky and went down mid-year with a major knee injury. Then there was the logjam in Philadelphia’s frontcourt that ultimately sent him packing to Dallas. Things haven’t gone well there, either.
But I’m a firm believer that there’s still a lot left to offer. He’s still only 24 years old, only averaging 4.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 0.7 blocks per game last season. Overall for his career, however, including his performance with the Sixers before things started to get a little gloomy, Noel has seen averages of 10.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest, and has averaged nearly a pair of steals and blocks per game.
The potential is there if you give him the chance to succeed. It’s a gamble, but it’s a low risk with a potentially high reward. And that’s something Minnesota can’t miss out on if they want to vastly improve the depth on their bench.
2. Dewayne Dedmon
Dewayne Dedmon’s stock took off after his season with the San Antonio Spurs in 2016-17. That’s not unusual, of course, with the overall greatness of that franchise and the players that they’ve turned into true NBA contributors.
After having a big season with the Spurs, Dedmon decided to take his talents to the Atlanta Hawks. It was his best season yet from a statistical standpoint, but it’s not a tough to see that he simply received more of an opportunity on a bad Hawks team versus being on a playoff team in San Antonio the year prior.
Even still, he averaged 10 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.5 assist, 0.8 blocks and 0.6 steals per game with the Hawks. One other noticeable improvement was his ability to shoot the ball from 3-point range. After attempting exactly one three over his first four seasons in the NBA, he launched 2.3 3-pointers per game in 2017-18, making an impressive 35.5 percent of his attempts. Simply put, the Wolves need more 3-point shooters and Dedmon can help out.
Dedmon is a solid player to bring off the bench because he brings depth and defensive consistency. He fits the image of the perfect role player off the bench, and it sure looks like it could be a perfect fit between the two parties.
1. Aron Baynes
Lastly, we arrive at Aron Baynes, most recently of the Boston Celtics. Baynes is another player who once played for the Spurs and won a ring there.
If Minnesota wants to find the perfect center for their current situation, then they need to look no further than him.
Baynes effectively uses his size to bully opponents on both ends of the floor. He’s a solid defender and would be the perfect anchor on the bench.
He started 67 games for the top-seeded Celtics a year ago and was a constant force in the wake of plenty of injuries and lineup shakeups. This goes to show that even without a consistent level of minutes each night, that he can still be successful — a major plus in Minnesota with Tom Thibodeau as head coach, who has a tendency to occasionally cut minutes from his bench players without warning.
Baynes isn’t the most effective offensive player, but he did average 6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game and is a great screener, which would be valuable with Jeff Teague and Jimmy Butler attacking off the dribble in the Wolves offense.
Maybe his recent success has a lot to do with Brad Stevens tremendous coaching skills, but it’s worth the risk.
All five of these players are worth an individual look if the Wolves are looking to add another center, depending on what happens with Cole Aldrich and Gorgui Dieng, and what Justin Patton‘s recovery time looks like.
Next: DWW Podcast: Recapping the NBA Draft
The guys on this list won’t cost that much, and that’s exactly what the Timberwolves need right now.