Minnesota Timberwolves: Wolves must be busy in free agency

With just eight players currently under contract, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a lot of work to do to secure more than half of their roster for 2019-20.

We’ve reached the offseason here in the Twin Cities, with playoff basketball not on the menu this season for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

While the players are winding down after a long year, work is just beginning for the front office, who have one heck of a free agency period coming up.

This offseason marks the end of a lot of the deals orchestrated by the since-fired Tom Thibodeau: Taj Gibson, Derrick Rose and Luol Deng are all unrestricted free agents, while Jeff Teague has officially opted-in to a contract way above his pay-grade. Thanks, Thibs.

This postseason also marks the ends of the contracts of Tyus Jones, who will be a restricted free agent, plus Anthony Tolliver, Jerryd Bayless, Mitch Creek and two-way players Jared Terrell and C.J. Williams, who will all hit unrestricted free agency.

While Cameron Reynolds was reportedly signed to a multi-year deal near the end of the season, neither the NBA’s website nor Basketball-Reference make no mention of next year being a part of the deal, so it’s safe to assume that next season is non-guaranteed and it would be fair to count him out for now.

So yeah, the Timberwolves are losing a lot of names. While All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns and the maxed-out Andrew Wiggins remain on the roster, their combined salary sits at $55 million next season, which is going to make some free agency discussions either very difficult for the Wolves — or, extra expensive, due to the tax threshold.

Thankfully for the Timberwolves, three of their eight contracted players remain on their rookie contracts, which helps balance things out a little.

In terms of free agency needs, the Timberwolves will certainly be looking to spend a bit of money to bolster the star factor of the team, or at the very least secure a few vital role-players.

A point guard will be a big need with both Rose and Jones hitting the open market. Whether the Wolves choose to chase a starting-caliber guard to join the main rotation over Teague or look for a cheaper back-up option to come off the bench is unknown.

While some bigger-name options such as Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker may be on the market, the Wolves would also be able to chase some likely-cheaper options in Isaiah Thomas or Rajon Rondo. The Timberwolves’ front office will likely be looking to see where the team needs its biggest boosts, and while Jones and Rose are both on the market, their value is sure to be significantly higher than what the Wolves’ have been paying them.

Personally, I’d love to see both Rose and Jones back, or at least one of the two. Whether or not the Timberwolves’ front office agrees is yet to be seen, but either way there’s likely to be some big stories regarding our team this offseason.

It’s pretty crazy to think the Timberwolves we’re used to could be completely changed going into next season, with up to half a team potentially filled with fresh faces (and that’s excluding possible trades).

It’s certainly going to be an interesting offseason to watch for all Timberwolves fans.