With this free agency period marred by missing out on the D’Angelo Russell sweepstakes, the Minnesota Timberwolves have their eyes set on the bigger picture: 2020 NBA Free Agency.
This free agency has been quite the rollercoaster for the Minnesota Timberwolves, as we’ve already discussed. While things are far from over it’s certainly looking as though the team won’t be entering the next season with a roster as strong as we would’ve liked.
The Timberwolves were arguably just a star, or perhaps a few role-players, away from being a playoff team for the upcoming season, however as things are currently looking, playoff contention is going to be a challenge.
That doesn’t mean this season should be written off already, but the front office certainly has their eyes ahead on the 2020 free agency period, working their way towards max cap space.
Saving cap space for next free agency is also part of the reason the front office chose not to match the Tyus Jones offer sheet. While I’m sad to see Jones go it’ll be interesting to see where Gersson Rosas and the rest of the front office choose to spend that money next season.
As things stand, the Timberwolves have a couple of pretty hefty salaries on the books. Their third biggest earner for the upcoming season is Jeff Teague earning roughly $19 million. Gorgui Dieng‘s $16 million will slightly increase to around $17 million the following year for the final year of his deal in the 2020-21 season.
Both of these contracts are a big reason why the Timberwolves have been limited in their free agency plans the last couple of seasons, not to mention the max contracts held by both Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. However, with Teague off the books next season, along with a number of new one-year deals added this offseason, the Timberwolves are prepared for a big 2020 free agency period.
While it wont have the same quality of players as the current free agency, next summer will feature some decent names on the market.
Two big names in next free agency include Draymond Green and Demarcus Cousins, both of whom will be unrestricted free agents. The Timberwolves may look at to form a big-man pairing with Towns. Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet are among the other bigger name unrestricted free agents on the market next offseason.
In terms of player options, a number of even bigger names could choose to opt-out of their contracts and enter free agency, with the likes of Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond and DeMar DeRozan having to consider their long-term futures next year.
Should the Timberwolves have any particular interest in some under-contract players, some of the bigger restricted free agents entering next offseason will include Gordon Hayward, Pascal Siakam and Domantas Sabonis.
Whether the Timberwolves plan to chase any big names is unknown, as they may choose to add a number of smaller pieces to long-term roles. The team only has six players on the books for the 2020-2021 season as things stand resulting in plenty of money to spend.
This offseason may not have lived up to the hopes of a lot of fans, but next season the team is almost certainly going to have to make some moves.