The most important upcoming free agent that the Minnesota Timberwolves have is a player that has been on their roster for just over four months. Ayo Dosunmu joined the team via trade with the Chicago Bulls, and he proved to be a seamless fit for his new club pretty much from the get-go.
The Wolves can actually bring him back before the other 29 teams are even eligible to talk to Dosunmu when free agency kicks off. Jake Fischer of The Stein Line states that Minnesota is already hard at work to keep him. In his latest Substack article, Fischer writes,
“Minnesota's Ayo Dosunmu is yet another and league sources say that the Timberwolves are already at work to try to hash out a new deal that keeps their influential midseason acquisition in the Twin Cities.”
It should be seen as pertinent to bring Dosunmu back, and this report is good news for the fan base.
Dosunmu can be extended for up to three years prior to NBA free agency beginning
On the day of the trade deadline, the Timberwolves acquired Dosunmu (along with Julian Phillips) in exchange for Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, and four second-round picks. It proved to be a wise move for the Wolves, albeit a somewhat risky one if Dosunmu turns out to be just a few-month rental by bailing in free agency.
Minnesota has exclusive negotiation rights with the 26-year-old since they hold his Bird rights. They are allowed to extend him for up to three years, $52.4 million prior to league-wide free agency beginning in the early evening on June 30.
The max they can extend him for always seemed like a fair deal to me. In 24 regular season games after joining Minnesota, Dosunmu averaged 14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 41.4 percent from 3-point distance. The five-year veteran had a career-best night in Game 4 of the Timberwolves’ opening round matchup against the Denver Nuggets when he dropped 43 points.
While there aren’t a lot of teams that can offer a substantial amount of money to Dosunmu if he remains unsigned on June 30, it takes just one team to force the Wolves to pay a pretty penny or risk losing him.
It’s a risk the Timberwolves shouldn’t want to take. The team needs Dosunmu, even more so with Donte DiVincenzo out with a torn Achilles. Let’s get a deal done, and the sooner the better.
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