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Timberwolves roster finalized for 2023-24 season, and it may floor you

By Bret Stuter

(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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The Minnesota Timberwolves have done it. The team has finalized the Timberwolves roster for the 2023-24 NBA season. Or . . . have they? Okay, perhaps you had better sit down for this one. because like many things in modern life, things are not what they seem to be. More importantly, perhaps, is the fact that we will need to do a bit of digging for information, comprehension, and understanding.

This season, NBA rosters are limited to 15 players on standard contracts, and now three players on Two-Way contracts. For the most part, NBA teams have been pushing hard to get down to the limit today.  But for some reason, the Minnesota Timberwolves had opted not to fill their 15th and final roster spot throughout training camp and preseason.

So you may have concluded that, when the Timberwolves roster was finalized, that oversight would be addressed at that time.

Well, you would have thought wrong:


While the Timberwolves have an opportunity to fill their final roster spot at any point in time by signing a free agent player, or by trading for an additional player on or before the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline, this short-sheeting the team does come with some risks. Here is our breakdown of the Timberwolves roster, and an initial analysis of the Timberwolves depth chart.

The Timberwolves are not immune to injuries. The roster size of 15 players is designed to allow NBA teams to create depth on their roster to handle injuries over the course of a long 82-game season. Ideally, teams can have a starter, a capable backup, and a reserve player who could be a young player to develop for the future.  Right now, the Timberwolves have decided to go light at a position.

Is this move a deliberate enticement for Luka Garza to play hard this season, with a carrot on the end of the stick in the form of a standard contract? Or is this a way of reserving a roster spot for rookie SG Jaylen Clark, so that when he is medically cleared to compete, he will be signed to the Timberwolves roster? Or is it simply a matter of waiting patiently as teams pare down their rosters?

As of right now, the Timberwolves are going with 14 players on standard contracts and three players on Two-Way contracts. Let’s hope this gamble has a huge payoff.

Plenty of other Red Hot Minnesota Timberwolves articles to check out as well:

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