Minnesota Timberwolves money matters: How finances dictate future

While the Minnesota Timberwolves were able to get quite a bit accomplished this offseason, they did not do so by throwing sacks of cash at any and every player who caught their eye.

In the end, the Timberwolves were able to do everything they seemed to prioritize this off-season by having one eye on the players they wanted to (re-)sign to the Timberwolves roster and one eye on the NBA salary cap that limited what the team could do.

Well, almost everything. Right now, the Minnesota TImberwoles have one open slot for a regular contract and one open slot on a Two-Way contract. Oh, and that huge contract extension for SF Jaden McDaniels.  So there are still some moving parts to the Timberwolves roster. But, for the most part, the Eagle has landed. And that means we can start to examine the Timberwolves roster.

How did Timberwolves free agency fare?

So how did the Timberwolves get players on great deals? Well, let’s look over who the Minnesota Timberwolves signed in free agency:

Of course, like any financial budget, the opportunity to shop for new items meant cutting costs elsewhere. And that meant that the team had to abandon previous financial commitments to Taurean Prince and risk negotiating a new contract from scratch.

But that’s the business of the NBA. Option years for teams and players tend to be used to flex what are otherwise firm and fast financial commitments. Still, the Timberwolves opted out of contracts, most likely with an intention to forge more team-friendly deals. But that creates opportunities for other teams to swoop in, as was the case for Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince.