Minnesota Timberwolves: 10 forward options in free agency

2. Luc Mbah a Moute

Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve arrived at our third and final old friend on this list. (As it turns out, a lot of fringe-starting forwards have played for the Timberwolves…)

Mbah a Moute was acquired by the Wolves in exchange for failed No. 2 overall pick Derrick Williams shortly after the start of the 2013-14 season. He was still being utilized mostly as an undersized rebounder and post defender who was extremely efficient and valuable in the specific role, but a massive offensive liability.

After being traded to Philadelphia as part of the Kevin Love–Andrew Wiggins trade, Mbah a Moute had a down year with the Sixers prior to signing with the Clippers in free agency. Under head coach Doc Rivers, Mbah a Moute became more of a perimeter player and went from being an awful mid-range shooter (just 33.3 percent from beyond 16 feet through his season in Minnesota) to a decent 3-point shooter, hitting on 34.5 percent of threes over his most recent four seasons.

The past two seasons have been even better, as Mbah a Moute has made 37.5 percent of his threes between his last year in L.A. and his single season in Houston.

He’s still a good defender, although he’ll be 32 years old next season and his lateral quickness and rebounding ability isn’t quite what it was in the early stages of his career. But he’s turned into a fairly well-rounded player, and would be a valuable addition to the Wolves bench with his ability to play both forward spots.