On January 5th, all 30 teams in the NBA officially became eligible to sign players to 10-day contracts, and the Minnesota Timberwolves will no doubt look to take full advantage of this opportunity.
With Karl-Anthony Towns still out with an injured calf and other nagging injuries still plaguing the Wolves’ roster, Minnesota will want to load up on as much fire power as possible to help keep them afloat in the wild Western Conference.
Getting Taurean Prince back has already been a difference maker, so the Timberwolves should not be shy in adding another frontcourt player to fill in for Towns if a good fit becomes available. Here are three players that would make sense for the Minnesota Timberwolves to sign on a 10-day contract.
Three players the Minnesota Timberwolves can sign on a 10-day contract:
1. Nemanja Bjelica
First off, if the Timberwolves are to sign any player on a 10-day contract, they will need an open roster spot, which they do not currently have. They would need to waive one player to create an opening to sign someone else.
Who that player would be is anyone’s guess. But if they are looking at acquiring one player’s services for a potentially short period of time, the obvious need would be in the frontcourt, where Karl-Anthony Towns’ absence has been a big difference-maker.
It is certainly in the realm of possibility that Minnesota would favor the idea of picking up a veteran big or wing to fill more minutes in the frontcourt, and one of their options would be Nemanja Bjelica. The Serbian role player was with the Timberwolves from 2015 to 2018, and he just earned his first NBA championship with the Warriors last season.
Since taking home the trophy with Golden State, Bjelica decided to go overseas and play with Fenerbahce Beko in Turkey. In the event that he would be open to returning to the United States, the Timberwolves might like to acquire his services. His stats may not be gaudy, but Bjelica has played on the biggest stage and his championship experience could be of value in Minnesota.
2. Gorgui Dieng
One name that has already been floated as a potential Minnesota target here at Dunking With Wolves is Gorgui Dieng. On Thursday, the San Antonio Spurs waived Dieng after their trade with the Boston Celtics to free up a roster spot.
In his second stint with the Spurs, Dieng was unable to find consistent playing time on a lottery-bound team. He averaged just 11.6 minutes per game and played in only 13 games in the Alamo City.
In large part, this was not due to a lack of ability or fall-off in production. Dieng just simply was not a good fit with the rest of that roster, as San Antonio is giving most of their minutes to their young players in an effort to help them develop quickly.
Dieng can still be a valuable role player in the right situation, and Minnesota might be where he fits best. The Timberwolves need another big that can stretch the floor to fill in for Karl-Anthony Towns, and Dieng absolutely fits this bill.
In his last two full seasons in 2021 and 2022, Dieng shot the ball from beyond the three-point arc at a rate of 42% and 43% respectively. He has the size at 6’11” to bother opposing bigs inside, and the skill to be a threat from outside, which would make the Timberwolves’ offense even more difficult to guard.
If Minnesota decides to kick the tires on Dieng, it would give them even more fire power on the perimeter, which is what made them so dangerous last season when they led the NBA in three-pointers made during the regular season.
3. DeMarcus Cousins
This is far from the first time we have talked about DeMarcus Cousins as a potential fit for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Back in September, he was one of several free agents we had speculated could be a good fit with this Timberwolves team before the season started.
The thought of him coming to Minnesota was not just a fan fantasy for the Wolves faithful either, it was in fact a desired outcome for DeMarcus himself, at least to some degree. While Cousins was doing an interview in July, Timberwolves President Tim Connelly walked past and DeMarcus, jokingly or not, signaled for Connelly to call him.
The connection between Cousins and the Timberwolves is relatively obvious. With Connelly acting as general manager of the Denver Nuggets until May 2022, he and Cousins formed a positive connection during DeMarcus’ three-month stint with the Nuggets.
It would certainly be one of the more natural fits one could think of in terms of Cousins’ comfortability with the organization. On the floor, he would be able to play a role that makes sense too, likely filling in for Rudy Gobert as a backup center and allowing Naz Reid some extra rest as well.
Like with any 10-day signing, the Timberwolves would not have any long-term commitment to DeMarcus Cousins. However, he would have the option to earn a more permanent spot with the team like he did in Denver last season. Given his production last season, he should probably already be on an NBA roster right now, so this would be a great value pickup for Minnesota.