Minnesota Timberwolves: 10 wing options in free agency

1. Will Barton

Will Barton is the absolute best combination of upside, athleticism, shooting, and defensive ability on the open market. Of course, Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Saturday that the Nuggets are expecting to re-sign Barton almost immediately on Sunday morning after free agency officially opens.

Barton was a second-round pick of Portland back in 2012 and has spent the last three-and-a-half seasons in Denver, shooting 36.2 percent from beyond the arc over the last three seasons. He averaged 15.7 point per game last year in 81 games, including 40 starts.

Barton is still only 27 years old and has seen his assist and 3-point rates climb over recent seasons. He has room to grow on defense still, but has the athleticism and size to continue to improve.

While he started half of the Nuggets games last year, he’s still probably best cast as a sixth man, with the ability to get hot in a hurry and put up a ton of points. He’s obviously a better defender than, say, Jamal Crawford, and would be an immediate upgrade for the bench.

He’s primarily a shooting guard and is a bit undersized to play heavy minutes at the three, but both Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins could slide over and play small forward if Barton is on the floor as a two.

Next: 10 forward options in free agency for the Timberwolves

Again, it seems most likely that he’ll be staying in Denver with the Nuggets, but if the Wolves could sneak in a call at 12:01 a.m. and try to make something work, well … they should.