Minnesota Timberwolves Free Agency: Carmelo Anthony

The Minnesota Timberwolves are out of cap space leaving them with few options in free agency. Could Carmelo Anthony be a cheap option?

The Minnesota Timberwolves are completely capped out. Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns are currently making up nearly 50 percent of the team’s overall salary cap. On top of that, Gorgui Dieng’s albatross of a contract is taking up another 15 percent, leaving Minnesota in a tough situation.

They cannot sign anyone without falling into the luxury tax or using the stretch provision (i.e. where they waive a player and stretch his salary over one plus another year). The Timberwolves severely need scoring off the bench. Enter Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony had a tumultuous 2018-2019 season. He was cut by the Houston Rockets after just 10 games where he averaged 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 32.8 percent on 3-pointers. He posted career-low numbers across the board and his usage rate dipped to 20.5 percent. In 29.4 minutes per game, he only shot 40.5 percent from the field and had an overall plus/minus of -5.9.

At this point in his career, the future Hall of Fame is not going to be the focal point of the offense anywhere he does. However, he also does not want to end his NBA legacy on a whimper, bowing out of the league by getting cut.

The 13.4 points per game Anthony produced last season would have been the most of any Timberwolves bench player. In his ten games with the Rockets, he proves he still has the ability to score, with three games of 20 or more points including 28 points on just 12 shots versus the Brooklyn Nets. He can be an efficient player if given an opportunity and the right fit.

More importantly, signing Melo to a minimum contract would only cost $1.66 million, which would not put Minnesota into the luxury tax. He would add a respected veteran presence in the locker room, which is something the Timberwolves will need this season after losing several of their veteran players to free agency.

Even with his flaws, Carmelo Anthony is still a pure scorer and would give the Timberwolves a scoring punch off of the bench. If Anthony were to renew his career in Minnesota, building that credibility could make him an attractive trade chip at the 2020 NBA Trade Deadline. This could work wonders for the Timberwolves because they could attempt to attach Jeff Teague or Gorgui Dieng in a Carmelo Anthony trade package and dump salary

Anthony does not get to the rim with the same frequency as he used to. He is also known to slow down the offense, flow, and movement on the floor as Melo is a typical isolation player (give him the ball early in the shot clock and clear out). Melo was unfairly used as the scapegoat for the Rockets’ sluggish 4-6 start. James Harden is an isolation player and the focal point of the offense, so he needs the ball. Anthony didn’t get a fair shot to really transition his game to a catch-and-shoot style.

If the Minnesota Timberwolves are willing to take a risk on Carmelo Anthony to raise their ceiling, it may not be a bad move.