A popular tourist destination in Nevada is the Valley of Fire State Park, where red sandstone formations form beautiful swirling patterns that look like fire moving across the horizon. For the last week, however, the valley of fire has instead been the Thomas and Mack Center 52 miles to the south, where Nate Santos is lighting up Las Vegas Summer League.
Santos was an undrafted free agent in 2025 that any team could have signed, but instead the Minnesota Timberwolves scooped him up, gave him some run with the Iowa Wolves, and now they are reaping the rewards as he looks like a potential replacement for the injured Donte DiVincenzo as a bench shooter.
The Timberwolves need to replace Donte DiVincenzo
With DiVincenzo expected to miss most of the season, they need to add shooters. On the other hand, he could return by the playoffs, so having a short-term replacement might do the trick.
The Timberwolves could invest significant resources into trading for a player to replace DiVincenzo, but that would cost them either the last draft pick that they have or their young center prospect Joan Beringer. Neither of those are costs that the Wolves want to pay. When you add in that such a deal would likely need the matching salary of DiVincenzo as well, the task becomes extremely painful. And with the Wolves' need at power forward, any resources they have should go towards solving that problem.
That leaves Minnesota with a conundrum: how to add shooting to the roster to replace DiVincenzo's impact as a movement gunner? They have enough small guards; they could use a shooter with size, and those are not cheap.
Unless, of course, they already have one in the pipeline.
Nate Santos is on fire
Nate Santos had a productive college career, going from a backup at Pitt to a star at Dayton, making the All A-10 team in each of his final two seasons in college. The 6'7" wing entered the 2025 NBA Draft with an outside shot at being drafted, but instead went undrafted. Minnesota scooped him up last September and he landed with the Iowa Wolves last season.
The Wolves have not extended Santos any sort of contract to date other than his summer league deal, so not only could another NBA team have snatched him up last summer, they could do so now. Yet it now looks like the Wolves will be the ones signing Santos.
Nate Santos has gone nuclear in Las Vegas, shooting 50 percent from deep on 7.3 attempts per game; he blasted onto the scene with 20 points in the Wolves' first game and hasn't looked back.
As far as shooting specialists go, he is very specialized. Santos is not filling up the stat sheet with assists, steals or blocks. His size and length help defensively, but he won't be a positive on that end.
Santos could solve their need
The shooting, however, looks pure. And that's what the Wolves need the most. They need someone inexpensive like Santos who can come in on a two-way, bomb away from 3-point range, and then fade into the background once DiVincenzo returns. It preserves their salary cap and their meager remaining assets.
Santos could flame out; he might do so in Training Camp, or early in the season. The Wolves should be prepared to cut bait quickly. But the shooting ability he has shown in Las Vegas is good enough that they have to take a closer look in case he turns out to be the DiVincenzo replacement they need.
And perhaps the Valley of Fire will be moving to Minneapolis this fall.
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