Minnesota Timberwolves re-sign Jarred Vanderbilt and Jordan McLaughlin

The Minnesota Timberwolves finalized agreements with the league’s only two restricted free agents, according to multiple reports.

Both Jarred Vanderbilt and Jordan McLaughlin are returning to the Wolves, nearly completing the Wolves’ unusual offseason with only a move or two left to make.

Minnesota Timberwolves re-sign Jarred Vanderbilt and Jordan McLaughlin

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the signings on Twitter, followed closely by The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski.

Vanderbilt and McLaughlin were the only two restricted free agents remaining league-wide. The prevailing sentiment has always been that both players would return to the Timberwolves, and that assumption only grew stronger as cap space around the league dried up.

The Wolves created a little more space after completing the Ricky Rubio-Taurean Prince trade and an extra roster spot by shipping Juancho Hernangomez and Jarrett Culver to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Patrick Beverley.

That allowed the Wolves to retain both Vanderbilt and McLaughlin, even if it took a little longer than expected.

Vanderbilt immediately becomes the Wolves’ second-best rebounder and only true power forward on the roster; Prince and Jaden McDaniels are both undersized and each comes with limitations when playing at the 4.

Neither player rebounds well as a power forward, which has been a team-wide issue for years. Prince probably defends the 4 better than he does the 3, but the opposite is true of McDaniels.

While McDaniels will play most of his minutes at the 3 this year, he very well could be the primary starter at the 4 with both Prince and Vanderbilt options off the bench that could bump McDaniels down the 3 in several lineup combinations. There really aren’t any other options at power forward, outside of playing ultra-small with Anthony Edwards in the frontcourt or playing extremely big, with backup center Naz Reid at the four.

Both scenarios will see the light of day at some point this season, but the primary three power forwards will be some combination of Vanderbilt, McDaniels, and Prince.

The Wolves used the majority of their remaining cap space to re-sign Vanderbilt, who surely had other semi-interested suitors around the league. He is yet to turn 21 years old and stayed healthy for the first time since high school last season. As a former five-star recruit, everyone knows there is still plenty of untapped potential.

After Vanderbilt received his three-year, $14 million deal, the Wolves gave McLaughlin three years and $6.5 million, although the third year is not fully guaranteed.

McLaughlin will be the third point guard behind D’Angelo Russell and Beverley, but will likely be a fringe member of the rotation. Depending on matchups, head coach Chris Finch will find ways to play lineups with two point guards in the backcourt as both Russell and Beverley are comfortable playing off the ball and are good enough shooters to do on a regular basis.

These were needed signings for the Wolves. Now, only Leandro Bolmaro, the third of three 2020 first-round draft picks, remains unsigned. It should get done any day now, with the Wolves still holding a roster spot for Bolmaro and his cap hold already reflected on their books.