The 2019 NBA offseason saw much more occur behind-the-scenes for the Minnesota Timberwolves than in front of the curtain. Which of the new acquisitions will prove most useful?
The Minnesota Timberwolves had a disappointing offseason — there’s no getting around that.
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After a brief flirtation with acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns‘ BFF, D’Angelo Russell, was abruptly cut short by real life via the Golden State Warriors’ nefarious asset collection, things settled into the doldrums.
Most of the serious action took place backstage, as new President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas moved to consolidate the new front office.
Likewise, head coach Ryan Saunders had the interim tag removed after a relatively thorough coaching search, giving way to continued team building heading forward.
After a prelude to chaos resulted in zero meaningful July trades and most of the best free agents on the market already signed, the Wolves had to shift to acquiring secondary players.
The end result? Taj Gibson, Dario Saric, Derrick Rose, Tyus Jones and Anthony Tolliver out; Jordan Bell, Treveon Graham, Jake Layman, Shabazz Napier and Noah Vonleh in.
None of the newly acquired players — Bell, Layman and Vonleh via free agency, Napier and Graham in a salary dump from the Warriors — project as surefire starters and some may not end up seeing playing time over the course of the whole season at all.
The total makeup of the incoming group is inferior to the pieces they’re replacing. And yet, they will have roles to play.
Let’s rank the newcomers by how much each will contribute to winning in the 2019-20 season. The Timberwolves’ rookies will not be included, nor will Treveon Graham, due to an extraordinary unlikelihood that he sees any sort of extended playing time this season.