The free agency focus continues with our top 10 options at the forward spot for the Minnesota Timberwolves this summer.
We kicked off our free agency preview series with a look at five centers that the Timberwolves could consider signing, especially if incumbent backup big man Gorgui Dieng and his massive contract are moved via trade in the coming weeks. (Also regarding the center position: Trey Flynn took a look at the possibility of trading for Los Angeles Clippers’ star DeAndre Jordan.)
Now, we’re on to the forwards. Let’s start with a couple of ground rules to explain how I arrived at this list.
First, these players are primarily forwards by trade; some of them are more “four” than “three”, but by and large, they aren’t options at shooting guard or center. (Next up, we’ll take a look at wings that skew more towards the guard position, primarily players that play the “two” and the “three”.)
Secondly, this isn’t necessarily the list of the 10 best free agent forwards, but the 10 that I feel would bring the best value to the Wolves, considering both projected on-court performance and the type of contract they might be hoping to sign.
Lastly, each player on this list happens to be an unrestricted free agent, but that wasn’t necessarily by design. There just aren’t that many realistic targets that are restricted, outside of Minnesota’s own RFAs, and the list shook out with a number of guys who are on the open market.
Let’s dive into the list with No. 10.
10. Luke Babbitt
Luke Babbitt was technically drafted by the Timberwolves back in 2010, but was selected on behalf of Portland in the Martell Webster trade initiated by the legendary David Kahn.
It took Babbitt some time to find consistent playing time in the NBA, but found a niche in New Orleans as a short-minute sharpshooter in years four and five of his career, shooting 43.6 percent over three seasons with the Pelicans.
Babbitt split last season between Atlanta and Miami, shooting 38.5 percent on 3-point attempts. He still carries a career mark of 40.2 percent from long-range.
He’s perhaps best deployed as a small-ball four, as he struggles to guard most threes. He doesn’t rebound much, however, and it would be hard to trust him to play more than short minutes. Of course, something like 10-12 minutes per game is probably all he could count on as part of the Wolves bench, anyway, given Tom Thibodeau’s substitution patterns.
9. Doug McDermott
Doug McDermott is somehow already heading into his fifth season at the NBA level and appears to be heading for his fifth different organization. He was the lone restricted free agent on this list; although Dallas recently pulled their qualifying offer, making him unrestricted.
Dougie McBuckets has been traded twice in each of the last two seasons, but has shot the 3-ball with accuracy wherever he’s gone.
He’s only ninth on this list because he remains a limited player, not contributing in many ways other than knocking down open jumpers. Predictably, he hasn’t rebounded or gotten to the rim much as a pro compared to what he managed at Creighton, and while he’s probably a bit underrated on defense, he still isn’t much to write home about on that end of the floor.
McDermott could add some punch to a second unit that lacked it from the front court, especially when Nemanja Bjelica was injured/returning from injury, which was a decent chunk of the season. Gorgui Dieng‘s limited minutes led to a late-season funk, and with his mid-range jumper clanking off the rim more often than not, he lost value on offense playing with Tyus Jones and Jamal Crawford versus the first four seasons of his career spent playing alongside Ricky Rubio in the pick-and-roll.
McDermott’s shooting would be a welcome addition, as he’s knocked down 40.3 percent of his career 3-point attempts, including 42.6 percent last year split between New York and Dallas.
While he’s still just 26 years old, it’s hard to say how much upside remains, and therefore what sort of value he’ll be on the open market. His price may get a bit more out of hand than it should, but if he can be had on the cheap, he’d be a valuable bench scorer for the Timberwolves.
8. Quincy Acy
Quincy Acy is an extremely unique player, having started his career as a bruising, undersized power forward with more of a defensive focus, and in six short season has transformed into something of a stretch-four.
Acy held a 3-point rate of .141 (in other words, 14.1 percent of his field goal attempts were from beyond the arc) through his first three seasons in the league. Over the last three, his 3-point rate has skyrocketed to .575 — a remarkable shift in style of play.
During that span, he converted on 36.7 percent of his attempts. For context, Nemanja Bjelica, who is known for his long-range shooting ability, has shot just 37.1 percent on 3-point attempts in his NBA career.
Acy is still a decent rebounder, although his rebound rate has slipped in recent years as he’s been pulled away from the paint more and more. He remains a far better defender using his width and effort to create leverage down low versus trying to hold his own at the perimeter, but he’s still a decently versatile forward.
Acy has never played on a playoff team, and in recent years has picked up his heaviest minutes for teams that were clearly going nowhere. Last year, that meant 19.4 minutes per game in 70 contests for Brooklyn. He’s probably best utilized in a 12-15 minutes per game role, which is exactly what he could hope for as situational sub with the Timberwolves.
7. Trevor Booker
We’ve arrived at yet another player who was technically picked by Minnesota in the NBA Draft — and, strangely enough, in the same draft as Babbitt.
Back in 2010, Booker was picked 23rd by the Timberwolves and traded with second-round pick Hamady N’Diaye for Nemanja Bjelica and Lazar Hayward. Bjelica, of course, could be exactly the player that a new forward acquisition, such as Booker, would be replacing in the Wolves rotation moving forward.
Booker doesn’t bring the shooting skill to the table that many of the others on this list possess, but he’s good enough in other areas that he should still be considered.
After spending his first four seasons in Washington, Booker played in Utah for two years, Brooklyn for one, and then split last season between the Nets, Sixers, and Pacers.
Booker has started to add somewhat of a 3-point shot to his game; since leaving Washington he’s attempted nearly one three per game, but shot only 31.4 percent on those attempts. But the biggest thing that he’d bring to the table is the ability to guard bigger players and still switch out onto the perimeter with his 6-foot-8 frame, all while maintaining a solid rebounding rate.
Booker doesn’t bring much to the table offensively, scoring the majority of his points around the rim and in the paint, but he’d be a good pick-and-roll player and, more importantly, shore up the second unit from a defensive perspective.
6. Dante Cunningham
The first old friend (former Timberwolf) on this list — not counting the draft-and-trades, of course — is Dante Cunningham, whom the Wolves reportedly had interest in each of the last two offseasons, but Minnesota saw him return to New Orleans.
After seemingly finding a home with the Pelicans, Cunningham was traded midseason following three-plus years in NOLA.
Cunningham is yet another undersized four who has somewhat transformed his game to fit today’s NBA. After being strictly a mid-range shooter in his two-year stint in Minnesota from 2012-14, Cunningham has attempted nearly two threes per game in the four seasons since, hitting on 34.7 percent of his tries.
It’s notable, however, that 64.9 percent of Dante’s 3-point attempts over the last four years were from the corner, where he converted at a 36.7 percent clip — certainly passable.
Cunningham remains a good defender who can take on threes or fours, and has been asked to play a variety of different roles on defense. Wolves fans may recall when he was asked by former head coach Rick Adelman to guard the likes of Kevin Durant on the perimeter during his time in Minnesota simply because there weren’t any other options, and Cunningham largely did as well as anyone could have asked of him.
He’s a bit miscast as a true perimeter defender, however, and is best utilized as an undersized power forward with the ability to guard threes in a pinch and knock down a corner three or mid-range jumper. One area that he struggles a bit, however, is on the glass, which is something the Wolves will no doubt keep in mind when considering adding Cunningham to the fold.
5. Channing Frye
This is where we get into the debate over what is more important: a player with one outstanding skill, or a more well-rounded, versatile player that can contribute in multiple facets of the game.
Frye is the perfect example of that, as he’s largely a spot-up shooter at this stage of his career. While he’s actually a better rebounder than Cunningham, his defensive versatility surely isn’t quite where the Wolves would like it to be if they’re considering slotting him into the Nemanja Bjelica role.
Shooting, however, is where Frye makes his money. Two years ago, playing behind Kevin Love and alongside LeBron James in Cleveland, Frye converted on 40.9 percent of his 3-point attempts. Last year, however, split between the Cavaliers and the Lakers, he only made 33.9 percent of long-range tries, although it appears to be a blip on the radar given his career mark of 38.7 percent.
He did just turn 35, although shooting isn’t typically the first skill to drop off for a player as talented as Frye. It’s easy to see him contributing as a short-minute sharpshooter with the Wolves second unit, especially as the offense will surely be driven by the wing position and he won’t be asked to do much else.
Frye is a decent enough defender and rebounder at the power forward position to hold his own and still warrant minutes on a playoff contender. He’ll no doubt be looking for that opportunity after being forced to spend his post-trade deadline months with the lowly Lakers this past winter.
4. Anthony Tolliver
Another old friend!
July like Cunningham, Anthony Tolliver spent two seasons with the Wolves, although his time in Minnesota dates all the way back to 2010-12. Also like Cunningham, Tom Thibodeau reportedly expressed interest in adding him to the fold last offseason before Tolliver ultimately decided to go back to Detroit.
He averaged 22.2 minutes per game over 79 contests with the Pistons and shot a career-best 43.6 percent on 3-point attempts. The year before, in Sacramento, he played 22.7 minutes per game and converted on 39.1 percent of long-range attempts.
While his career mark sits at 37.6 percent, Tolliver has become more of a true specialist in recent years. He’s a poor rebounder for a power forward, but isn’t quite able to play consistently at the three, although he can be passable there in a pinch.
His shooting skill is elite, however, and that makes him more valuable than some of the other, more well-rounded players on this list. He also reportedly enjoyed playing in Minnesota, and it’s fair to say that the team has much better playoff prospects now than it did back in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Finding a player in free agency who can hit around or above 40 percent on threes and be good enough on defense would be extremely valuable, and Tolliver can bring both of those things to the table.
3. Mike Scott
Mike Scott was a late-bloomer as a second-round pick of Atlanta back in 2012. As a 24-year-old rookie, Scott attempted zero 3-point shots. By his third season, he was launching 2.8 per game in only 16.5 minutes per contest, converting on 34.4 percent of his attempts.
He broke out in his fourth season, nailing 39.2 percent of threes and contributing off the bench for the fourth-seeded Hawks, who reached the second round in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Due to injury, Scott only played in 18 games the following season. He joined the Wizards last year and tied a career-high in minutes, logging 18.5 per game while scoring 8.8 points per contest and shooting a career-best 40.5 percent from beyond the arc.
He will be 30 years old this season and is somewhat limited defensively, but he’s arguably the best combination of size, rebounding, and sharpshooting on this list when fully healthy. Outside of his injury-plagued 2016-17 campaign, he’s been a fairly durable player.
It remains to be seen what kind of market there will be for Scott; it seems likely that Washington may try and bring him back into the fold. If the Wolves could land him, however, he would be an intriguing addition to be sure.
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.
1. Ersan Ilyasova
It was only about five years ago that Milwaukee vastly overpaid Ersan Ilyasova, meaning that for a period of time, the Turkish forward was largely underrated as a player.
Ilyasova has been a journeyman over the past few seasons, being traded five times in three seasons, and last year getting waived by Atlanta and rejoining Philadelphia, where he had played briefly the year prior, for the stretch run.
He’s always been a good 3-point shooter, with a career mark of 36.6 percent, and a good rebounder, with a career rebound rate of 13.6 percent. He’s largely a power forward and at 6-foot-10 is too big to play the three, but has some positional versatility and is a good enough defender to hold his own in the pick-and-roll. (Also, he’s not a center in any way, shape, or form, which precluded him from our prior list.)
Ilyasova was a valuable member of this spring’s Sixers squad that reached the second round of the playoffs. His unique combination of rebounding ability and 3-point shooting has made him, in some ways, a Kevin Love-lite option for playoff contenders over the past several years.
The one trick with Ilyasova is that he’s always averaged well north of 20 minutes per game in his career, and he almost certainly wouldn’t get that kind of run in Minnesota, especially without the ability to truly play the three or the five positions.
Next: 5 options at center for the Timberwolves in free agency
We’ll be back later on Saturday with a look at the wing players with the ability to fill in at the two-spot that the Timberwolves might take a look at in the coming days.