The Minnesota Timberwolves have finally made their first move of the free agency period in acquiring Shabazz Napier and Treveon Graham.
About 24 hours after the start of 2019 NBA Free Agency, the Minnesota Timberwolves have finally made a move. Although a small acquisition, it could prove beneficial down the road.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Timberwolves will be acquiring Shabazz Napier and Treveon Graham from the Golden State Warriors in order for them to clear more cap space after the sign-and-trade of D’Angelo Russell for Kevin Durant. Both of these players were acquired by Golden State from the Brooklyn Nets in the trade and were immediately moved to Minnesota.
Golden State is moving Shabazz Napier, Treveon Graham and cash onto Minnesota, league sources tell ESPN. Napier and Graham are part of the D'Angelo Russell sign-and-trade.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2019
Shabazz Napier has now been in the league for five seasons and is a former first-round pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. He has spent time with the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets. Last season in Brooklyn, Napier averaged 9.4 points and 2.6 assists in just 17.6 minutes per game. He is a career 35.4 percent 3-point shooter and is a capable backup point guard.
Treveon Graham is a 25-year-old shooting guard who is also a solid 3-point shooter. In three NBA seasons, he has played with both the Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets in limited minutes. Last season for the Nets, he produced 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 20.4 minutes per game. Graham appeared in 35 games, starting 21 of them. He is a career 36.3 percent shooter from deep.
While both of these players are on non-guaranteed contracts, there is a feeling this could be part of a larger move. Napier and Graham could both be waived this offseason, or even traded later on in part of another trade. Overall, this is a low-risk move for the Minnesota Timberwolves. They struck out on their own sign-and-trade of D’Angelo Russell, so this is sort of a consolation prize, right? The Timberwolves don’t appear to be sending anything back to the Warriors in this transaction.
In the next few months, we will find out how important this move was. Either way, whether they are trade chips, waived, or make the roster, there is essentially no risk on the end of the Minnesota Timberwolves in this small transaction.