Examining a roller coaster free agency for the Minnesota Timberwolves

The KAT clock and the offseason so far

It has been widely reported that the Minnesota front office is rightfully hell-bent on acquiring a second star to pair with superstar big man Karl-Anthony Towns.

If the recent Paul George trade is any indication, max contracts do not seem to be an obstacle for players to get out of their current situation (see also Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis), or act as an anchor that keeps them tied to the team they signed with.

The KAT clock is ticking and Rosas knows it.

After striking out on Russell, the Wolves’ brass shifted their focus to bring in players searching for playing time on minute deals.

There are two reasons for the Wolves signing three players, whom we’ll discuss in a moment, on smaller deals: 1) Minnesota is extremely cap-strapped and, simply put, does not have many many options; 2) to maintain flexibility for the future.

Ideally, you search for low-risk players with high potential that can outperform their contracts if given an increased role, which is exactly what the Wolves have done with their free agency transactions thus far. The objective of stockpiling these players is to use them in trades later on in the season.

If the play of guys like Napier or Jordan Bell can exceed the price of their inexpensive contracts, their trade value will be inflated.

As a result, they can be dealt to contenders looking to get ahead of the buyout market, entice rebuilding teams to take Gorgui Dieng or Jeff Teague off the Wolves’ hands, or be used as low-cost fillers in potential blockbuster trades for disgruntled superstars who may soon request trades.

Here is a look at the players Minnesota has secured in the last week. Then, we’ll take a look at the Wolves’ current cap situation:

• Shabazz Napier and Trevon Graham on partially-guaranteed deals via Golden State.
• Jordan Bell on a one-year veteran’s minimum deal, which is worth $1,620,564 for a player with two years of experience.
• Noah Vonleh to a one-year, $2 million deal worth slightly above the veteran’s minimum ($1,882,867 for a player entering his sixth season).
• Jake Layman via a sign-and-trade with Portland, in which the 6-foot-9 swingman agreed to a three-year deal worth $11.5 million.

Layman’s salary was absorbed using the trade exception created from the draft night trade that sent the Wolves’ No. 11 pick and Dario Saric to the Suns for the No. 6 pick, which became Jarrett Culver, who officially became a member of the Wolves on Saturday

This means his contract in 2019-20 will not count against the salary cap. Hiring a creative front office mind like Rosas is already paying dividends.

The Timberwolves have assembled a fantastic team of executives who have tons of experience when it comes to cap gymnastics, and it’s already beginning to show.

Dane Moore of Zone Coverage broke down what the Wolves’ cap situation looks like on Twitter following the sign-and-trade to acquire Layman.

While roster spots on the team for Napier and especially Graham are far from set in stone, there is a path for them to become extremely useful for the Wolves in one way or another.

Let’s take a closer look at each individual player the Wolves have acquired so far this summer.