1 Thing Timberwolves must add if Kyle Anderson departs in free agency

The new NBA landscape has created some difficult circumstances for teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves. The rules encompassed within the league's latest collective bargaining agreement have made it increasingly harder to form and retain great rosters.

Minnesota has accomplished the first of these tasks, but they will now have trouble completing the second. Team President Tim Connelly did a masterful job assembling the Wolves' roster, but finances will become an issue extremely shortly.

Karl-Anthony Towns' max contract extension kicks in next season, and Minnesota will have multiple other players on max salaries as well. Due to the financial restrictions of the second apron tax bracket within the new collective bargaining agreement, the Timberwolves will have to make some difficult decisions.

One of those hard choices will be deciding to part ways with one or more of the team's most useful role players. Kyle Anderson is a big question mark in this team's offseason, and there is no guarantee the team will be able to retain the skilled wing. Slo-Mo was massive for the Wolves in the Western Conference Finals, but he could still end up as a casualty of what is sure to be a crazy offseason.

Minnesota will need a 3-and-D wing

If Minnesota does move on from Anderson, the biggest need it will create on this roster is for a three-and-D style wing player. That is what Kyle has brought to this team for the last two seasons, and a replacement of some sort will be of the utmost importance. The Timberwolves' roster is already short on rotation-level wings, and losing Anderson would hurt in a big way.

What the Wolves should do is look to the team that took them down in the playoffs as inspiration. Minnesota will basically only be able to sign minimum contracts for the rest of the offseason, barring a crazy change. So they should aim to do what Dallas did when it acquired Derrick Jones Junior.

A previously discarded and less-desired player, Jones became a massive piece for the Mavericks during the postseason, with his strong contributions helping propel them to the NBA Finals. The Timberwolves should plan to seek out a similar player, and perhaps follow Dallas' lead in searching where many other teams would perhaps not look.

The point being, there are plenty of Derrick Jones-type players out there that can be had for less than a burdensome contract. If Minnesota loses Kyle Anderson, they will have to make this kind of move to supplant him and remain one of the top contenders in the Western Conference.