Those were the days my friend, we wished they’d never end. For the Minnesota Timberwolves, the glory days have long been a factor in the struggles with setting up their annual Timberwolves roster. Oftentimes, NBA teams base their decisions on who to add, extend. or release on the past performances of a particular player. While that is about as dependable as it gets, that can lead to some regrettable decisions.
Sometimes the Minnesota Timberwolves were simply caught swinging for the fences with a free agency signing, and as many home run hitters tend to do, struck out instead. But it’s never an easy thing to do – to project how an NBA player will perform on a new team with new coaches and new teammates.
Veterans bring risks too
The event that triggered the willingness to sign veterans to the Timberwolves roster to begin the 2022-23 NBA season was the trade that sent five players and four draft picks to the Utah Jazz as compensation to acquire All-Star center Rudy Gobert. Because the Timberwolves roster was suddenly shorn of so many players, the need to add new faces to known roles almost forced the team to turn to veteran players.
But throughout the history of the Minnesota Timberwolves, whether it was an attempt to fit players around a star to generate an NBA Championship-level roster or simply to fill in the gap of what the team needed to compete at that time, seasoned veterans have been a key component to that strategy.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. In the attempt to shoot for veterans who are a simple matter of plug-and-play to the Timberwolves roster, the team discovered that the player was already past his prime. Here are seven times when the Minnesota Timberwolves roster decisions did not pan out as well as hoped for:
VII: Take me to the Rivers
When the Minnesota Timberwolves signed veteran guard Austin Rivers, the Timberwolves front office was addressing the need for veteran leadership, perimeter defense, and perimeter shooting in broad brush strokes.
While not exactly a ‘bust,’ in the entire sense of the word, it’s obvious that the Timberwolves’ election to end their relationship with Austin Rivers after just one season sprang from the underwhelming performance that he contributed to the team.
Now, don’t get me wrong. The 2022-23 NBA season was very taxing on everyone on the Timberwolves roster, and through it all, Austin Rivers proved to be that veteran voice of reason. But leadership in the NBA requires more than remaining calm, cool, and collected whenever open microphones are shoved at you.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way
Leadership requires leading by example, and that was where Rivers seemed to fall short.
On paper, it made a great deal of sense to take a flyer on Austin Rivers, a 6-foot-4 combination point guard and shooting guard who would give the Timberwolves some flexibility and versatility in the backcourt. But Rivers’s career average of 8.5 points per game, 2.1 assists per game, and 2.0 rebounds per game seemed like lofty expectations.
Rivers played 10 NBA seasons before joining the Timberwolves roster, and as of this article remains an unsigned free agent.
VI: Z-Rod
By the time that the Minnesota Timberwolves had signed veteran point guard/shooting guard Rod Stickland, he was entering his 15th NBA season. But beyond that, he was 36 years old, and the years were beginning to show. That was not just bad news for him, but bad news for the Timberwolves.
The Wolves were a team that still had hopes of winning it all with veteran All-Star power forward Kevin Garnett, but the choice of building the right type of roster around him was a bit lacking. Strickland was only able to play 47 games for the Timberwolves that season.
Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 175 pounds, the combination point guard and shooting guard should be a versatile and valuable addition to the Timberwolves roster. The season prior to joining the Timberwolves, Strickland was an ideal starting point guard for the Miami Heat. Unfortunately, he was not nearly as productive for the Timberwolves.
Had he delivered in a similar fashion, he would have lasted longer the one-and-done chapter of his NBA career with the Timberwolves. He would go on to play two more seasons, but he had already hit the wall and his numbers were in steep decline.
V: No Kandi before winning it all
When the Minnesota Timberwolves signed 7-foot-0 269-pound center Michael Olowokandi, the hope was that he could give the Wolves that defensive presence with a bit of offense that was sorely lacking for the team behind Kevin Garnett. The Wolves loved what the Kandi Man delivered in five seasons with the LA Clippers.
Unfortunately, that is not what they got.
Michael Olowokandi had strung together five impressive and improving seasons with the Clippers. But when he arrived to compete for the Minnesota Timberwolves, his production took a steep and disastrous plunge off a cliff. He was barely able to generate half of his numbers from the previous season,
That precipitous drop in his performance sealed his fate as one of the Worst Timberwolves starters of the Kevin Garnett Era. Worse yet, the Timberwolves had signed him to a three-year contract worth over $16 million. As a result, not only was he not as productive as advertised, but he was an expensive mistake in many ways for the Timberwolves from 2003 through 2006.
He was finally traded to the Boston Celtics where he would play one more season before retiring.
In theory, the 28-year-old Olowokandi should not have hit the wall so early in his NBA career. But every player signed in the NBA comes with risks. In this case, the Timberwolves gambled and lost.
IV: Not Cole, bro
The Minnesota Timberwolves continue to try to find the right center, and once more tried to add a seasoned veteran who was a bit past his prime. 6-foot-11 250-pound center Cole Aldrich played a total of 83 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves but really had little positive impact in those games. In fact, the Timberwolves benefitted from his last two seasons in the NBA.
But I’m not going to lie about it. ‘Benefit,’ is a very strong term for an NBA player who averages 1.4 points per game and 2.1 rebounds per game. But the biggest headache of it all is the fact that he earned over $7.6 million in 2016-17, and earned $7.3 million in 2017-18.
And he took home over $685,000 for each of the next three years not to play. Yikes!
While he was a career 3.1 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game when he signed with Minnesota Timberwolves, he was at the prime of his NBA career at 28 years of age, and he seemingly was breaking out, having strung together two NBA seasons of 5.5 points per game, nearly 5.0 rebounds per game, and 1.1 blocks per game.
Well, you never saw anything close to that as he competed for the Timberwolves. In fact, his two-season average with the Timberwolves was the worst chapter of his NBA career.
III: Naturally, too late
The Minnesota Timberwolves actually drafted 6-foot-6 215-pound shooting guard Brandon Roy with their sixth overall pick of the 2006 NBA Draft. But the Timberwolves had their eye on Randy Foye, Now, Foye was a solid addition to the Timberwolves roster, and he played well for the Wolves for three seasons. But Roy was a far brighter shooting star.
Unfortunately, his star all but burned out before signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 2012-13 NBA season. He played just five games for the Timberwolves, on a $5.1 million contract. That worked out to more than one million dollars in cold hard cash for each game played.
Signing Brandon Roy was as much of a business decision as it was a basketball decision. Roy, the ‘One that got away,’ was a huge gamble by the Timberwolves to see if the team that drafted him could help him resuscitate his NBA career.
Unfortunately, with just five games played, the Timberwolves could not even get Roy’s career’s heart beating one more. At the time that Brandon Roy attempted his comeback, he had four NBA teams who pushed hard to sign him. He chose the Timberwolves:
"“Minnesota is the only team we met with where everybody was in the room at the same time. It meant a lot to Brandon that they all came out to see him, especially the owner. It showed him he was high on their priority list.”- as per Greg Lawrence, agent for Brandon Roy"
While it did not pan out, it did demonstrate that the Timberwolves remained committed to winning.
II: Forbes Unfortunate 500
When the Minnesota Timberwolves signed free agent veteran shooting guard Bryn Forbes, it was glaringly obvious that he was a tried-and-true player who had a recent history with new Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly. You see, Forbes had filled a niche role for the Denver Nuggets, and the Timberwolves needed that same niche role filled on the Timberwolves roster.
Well, it’s pretty safe to say that Forbes never delivered on those expectations.
One year earlier, Forbes was an ideal niche player for the Denver Nuggets. He signed a modest one-year contract and delivered with 8.6 points per game and 41.0 percent shooting from the perimeter. Those are the types of numbers that NBA personnel executives love to see.
This is exactly the reason why, when he hired on with the Minnesota Timberwolves after a long career with the Denver Nuggets, new President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly signed Forbes in the hope of recapturing some of the prior year’s magic for the Timberwolves.
Not only did he not hold par with his career averages, but Bryn Forbes suddenly lost the ability to score on his long-range shots. No offense and no defense translated into no reason to keep him on the roster.
I: Over the Hill
When the Minnesota Timberwolves signed 6-foot-10 235-pound center and power forward Jordan Hill, the Timberwolves knew that they were signing a veteran of seven NBA seasons. What the Timberwolves did not realize is the fact that Jordan Hill would end his NBA career with the Timberwolves, and only suit up for seven NBA games in the process.
If you note, many of the players in this list fall in the front court, and more than half are centers. Well, that was certainly the case for Hill.
Hill played one season, seven games in all, and earned $3.91 million for his troubles. Unlike Brandon Roy, there was no comeback tale that preempted the risks. He was 29 years old when he signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and his previous three NBA seasons were quite promising as he averaged approximately 10 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game.
But he was not able to compete for the Timberwolves. Not only did he only suit up for seven games, but he only averaged 6.7 minutes per game. That is nearly $100K per minute played in the NBA while on the Timberwolves roster.
His lone season with the Wolves would be the last of his NBA career.
He reportedly fell out of favor with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Coach Tom Thibodeau when he failed to report for an optional mini-camp. Originally intended to add depth to the Timberwolves roster, Hill became a veteran mentor for the Timberwolves’ younger players. In the end, he saw next to nothing in terms of live-action. And in doing so, was one of the final players signed by the Minnesota Timberwolves well past his prime.