Minnesota Timberwolves: Best Move They Did, Didn’t Make

The Minnesota Timberwolves made moves to improve their head coach, point guard and frontcourt rotation. What was their best move, and what future move may they have left undone?

Two steps forward, one step back. No NBA team ever has a perfect offseason, but rather tries to weigh the scale with more positives than negatives. They may lose a player in free agency, but try to fill that void with a cheaper alternative in the draft.

They may sign their top target in free agency, but lose a longtime veteran to clear the cap space.

Each and every team experiences these ups and downs, and we’ll look at each in turn. Today we land in Minnesota, where an exciting young nucleus is starting to burn brightly.

The Minnesota Timberwolves added another top prospect to their core during the draft, and filled out their frontcourt depth in free agency. What was their best move? And what move may have been missed by their new front office?

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Best Move: Drafting Kris Dunn

Coming into the draft, the Timberwolves were not in need of a point guard. Ricky Rubio was a solid starter last year, providing 10.0 points, 8.6 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. He rated as the fifth-best point guard according to ESPN’s Real Plus/Minus stat.

Backing him up was Tyus Jones, a first-rounder from last year’s draft who showed potential as a scorer and playmaker.

But Minnesota’s only true need was at power forward, and Dragan Bender — the highest-rated 4 in the draft — went to the Phoenix Suns one spot before the Timberwolves were on the board.

That opened up the options for team president Tom Thibodeau, general manager Scott Layden, and the rest of Minnesota’s new front office.

The Timberwolves could have tried to leap ahead in line, trading the pick for an established veteran to speed up the timetable for this core. Trade rumors involving Jimmy Butler swirled around the team the night of the draft.

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But Minnesota’s core —

,

and

– are all 21 and younger. Having one last top-five pick allowed them to add another piece to that core.

Another sub-optimal move would have been chasing perceived needs over talent and fit. Marquese Chriss, a forward out of Washington, was rising up draft boards as an athletic stretch-4 with tremendous upside.

Past Minnesota teams may have reached for him to fill a position; thankfully Thibodeau and his team did not.

They also didn’t chase shooting, letting Buddy Hield slip past. He may have given them spacing on offense, but his limitations as a ball-handler and defender would not have fit the high ceiling Minnesota is building towards.

Instead Minnesota drafted another point guard in Kris Dunn. On the surface that seems like an unnecessary move, but looking closer it’s the only move that made sense. Thibodeau loves intelligent, hard-working players who play defense. That profile fits Dunn like a glove.

In some ways he’s a younger, more athletic form of Rubio. Offensively he has upside to be a better shooter, and his work around the basket may already be better than Rubio.

Dunn is a gifted passer, although only two or three players in the entire league can claim the vision and passing ability that Rubio has naturally. Each are variations on a theme, providing playmaking and top-notch defense at the point guard position.

Dunn shined in Summer League, putting up 24 points per game as he got to the rim at will. He looked like a man among boys and showed poise and a skill level that stood out. Minnesota is in no rush to move on from Rubio, but in drafting Dunn they give themselves the option to.

If Dunn develops his jumper and comes along quickly on the defensive end, Thibodeau will give him major minutes even with his relative inexperience. Moving forward, he could push this team’s ceiling even higher than Rubio could.

Best Move They Didn’t Make: Hoarding 2017 Cap Space

In the wake of the cap shooting up to $94 million, teams spent money like they were playing Monopoly this summer. That wasn’t surprising — with the salary cap floor set at $84.7 million, teams needed to spend money on someone.

What was surprising was how many teams compromised their cap space for next offseason and beyond.

Minnesota protected their long-term cap space, a necessary move with their young stars nearing free agency themselves.

But with the 2017 free agency class looking like the strongest in years and so many teams taking themselves out of the running for max-level free agents, Minnesota could have saved their 2017 space to make a run at a star.

The players they signed were on reasonable deals and the contract for Cole Aldrich — three years, $22 million — looks like a steal compared to the money players such as Miles Plumlee and Timofey Mozgov received.

Jordan Hill received a two-year, $8 million contract. While Minnesota didn’t have a glaring need for centers, both players are on solid contracts.

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The problem isn’t the contracts, but the opportunity cost. By signing those players the Timberwolves have reduced their 2017 cap space to $30.7 million, less than the max salary slot for veteran players with 10 or more years of experience.

This is a marginal critique to make, as the majority of free agents worth that max salary will have less than 10 years of experience and thus have a lower starting salary. Players such as Serge Ibaka and Blake Griffin would fit well at power forward and max out around $28 million.

But with Minnesota bearing all the signs of being the next best team, keeping open the option of signing the very best — Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul — was worth more than signing backup centers on a team that already had a few.

Minnesota certainly has options moving forward, from trading Rubio or Gorgui Dieng to stretching Nikola Pekovic. The new salary cap projections may rise over the next year, or a new collective bargaining agreement may come into place. They can increase that salary cap space if necessary.

In total the Minnesota Timberwolves had a successful offseason, from bringing in the market’s top head coach to building a solid rotation around their budding superstars.

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After multiple summers of success, the Timberwolves can realistically reach for the sky and race towards their goal of the next NBA dynasty.