After acquiring Ayo Dosunmu from the Chicago Bulls at the trade deadline, the 26-year-old immediately proved to be a seamless fit with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He provided some speed, defense and scoring ability off the bench for the Wolves during the stretch run. However, Ayo has an uncertain future as he becomes a free agent this summer.
Dosunmu was vague when asked whether he’ll return to the Timberwolves after they were eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals last week. But president of basketball operations Tim Connelly provided some music to the ears of fans when discussing Ayo's free agency.
“Ayo’s our most important free agent,” Connelly said via The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. “He’s a guy we thought we knew pretty well and we liked him from afar. Now seeing him day to day, we love him... So we are pretty optimistic that we'll get something done there. He's everything we thought and more."
Timberwolves will make Ayo Dosunmu their top free-agent priority this offseason
Timberwolves fans may share Connelly’s admiration for Dosunmu after last season. Acquired along with forward Julian Phillips in exchange for guard Rob Dillingham, forward Leonard Miller and four second-round draft picks, Dosunmu was a shot of adrenaline for the Minnesota bench, averaging 14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists over 24 games in Minnesota.
Dosunmu’s role grew in the playoffs after Donte DiVincenzo tore his Achilles tendon in the first round of the playoffs, but he stepped up to average 15.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 10 playoff games despite playing through a calf injury.
A 43-point effort in Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets in the first-round had Dosunmu tugging more on the heartstrings of Wolves fans and his comments after the season ended had many asking Connelly, “Can we keep him?”
“The main thing that I really appreciated coming to Minnesota was how they accepted me,” Dosunmu said via Andrew Dukowitz of Zone Coverage.“Coming in at the trade deadline, they accepted me right away. The fans are amazing, the environment is amazing. I love it. Being my first time being traded, I think they took me in with open arms. So I’m excited. Of course, I’m excited also for free agency. Because being in the league for five years, this is my first time being able to go through free agency unrestricted, I’m looking forward to that. But at the same time, my time here, these two to three months in Minnesota has been great. I’m excited for the future.”
Dosunmu had positive words for his time in Minnesota, but it might not mean anything if Minnesota doesn’t show reciprocation with their contract offer. According to SI’s Joe Nelson, Andrew Nembhard’s three-year, $58.6 million contract extension with the Indiana Pacers could be a fair starting point, but that projection was made before he went off with his playoff performance.
A team with a starting role could also entice Dosunmu and could have the Wolves bumping up their offer, especially if they are able to get Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, or both of their high-priced contracts off the books this summer.
It sets up an intriguing pursuit to keep Dosunmu and potentially reverse a poor decision when the Wolves let Nickeil Alexander-Walker leave in free agency last summer.
With Dosunmu looking at all options and willing to give Minnesota first rights, both sides could strike a deal if their financial aspirations match their comments.
Add us as a preferred source on Google