NBA Rumors: Surprise team may be targeting Jaylen Nowell

One of the unknowns remaining in this offseason for the Minnesota Timberwolves is what the team will ultimately decide to do with Jaylen Nowell. The fourth-year guard had a difficult season in 2022-23 that put his future with the team up in the air.

After Nowell’s shooting regressed to a significant degree last year, it left fans wondering whether he should be in the Timberwolves’ long-term plans. Though he played the most minutes of any season in his career and saw his highest points per game average at 10.8, Nowell shot a dismal 28% from three-point range.

That sharp of a falloff seemed to undoubtedly put next season in jeopardy for him with all the talent Minnesota’s roster has. But as the opening few weeks of free agency have come and gone, we have not seen much interest around the NBA in Jaylen Nowell.

With no new suitors stepping up to the plate, it seemed increasingly likely that the Wolves could re-sign Nowell, perhaps for a lower price than initially expected. Now, there appears to be a possible new landing spot for the young guard: the Toronto Raptors.

The Toronto Raptors are considering adding another guard.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported on Saturday that the Raptors are “considering adding another point guard” in free agency. With that being the case, there is a good possibility Jaylen Nowell is on their radar.

The theory that the Timberwolves could plan to re-sign Nowell to a cheaper deal was based on the scenario where no other NBA teams felt it was worth it to ink Nowell to a new contract. But if the Raptors think he is worth paying $7 million to $10 million per year for, Minnesota should do nothing to stop them.

In all honesty, Toronto could use Nowell’s services. He would be an upgrade over Malachi Flynn, and could provide some relief minutes for Gary Trent Jr. when the team needs some scoring power. If the Raptors end up deciding to tank, he is not talented enough to be a ceiling-raiser.

At this point, the Wolves’ roster is far too deep at guard for Jaylen Nowell to be a high priority. If another team wants to make an overpay for him, it is not something that will affect Minnesota’s outlook enough for it to matter.