Thankfully, Timberwolves have not pursued BR FA target, Jordan Nwora

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been anything but quiet so far in the 2022 NBA season. It’s been a very dramatic, and at times, quite an emotional roller coaster for the fans, and we just cleared the NBA Summer League. That’s how it goes with aggressive new owners who are intent on placing the Timberwolve on the NBA map.

But they were quiet when it counted. Such as? Such as in not acting upon Bleacher Report’s suggestion to sign free agent small forward Jordan Nwora. Why would that have been a mistake?

Well, the term mistake is such a harsh term. Let’s just dial that back to a risky misappropriation of energy, effort, and funding. How so?

While Jodan Nwora is a young forward who may be a salary cap casualty for the Milwaukee Bucks, the Buck front office is not foolish. The executives at the helm of the Bucks understand the value of a young wing like Nwora, so any offer sheet extended by the Timberwolves would almost undoubtedly be matched by the Bucks, and would be parlayed into some type of sign and trade arrangement.

That transforms the signing of a free agent into a trade for a young and still a bit raw and still needs-to-develop wing player.

Where the true challenge arrives is that the effort used to vet and negotiate an acquisition of Nwora takes the place of personnel hours that can be used to vet and analyze the fit of other players, who will not end up at a bargaining table with another team’s front office.

Yes, Jordan Nwora is a promising young talent. But if he is all that, the Buck front office, and not the Timberwolves front office, would be working all hours of the day and night to re-sign him to the team. Of course, new teams can impact a young player’s development trajectory. But the Minnesota Timberwolves should, and are, focusing on players who can contribute today, more than those who can contribute in the future.

Is there a risk in not attempting to acquire Jordan Nwora? Of course. But it is not as great as attempting to do so right now. The Timberwolves have a good number of wings to sort through right now.