Minnesota Timberwolves: Breaking down Gersson Rosas’ early impact

The roster makeover

The roster reconstruction began in January when Rosas shipped off Jeff Teague and Treveon Graham to Atlanta for Allen Crabbe, an attempt to open up additional roster spots and possibly avoid the luxury tax. (Crabbe’s remaining salary was later bought out by the Timberwolves, but Crabbe cleared waivers unsigned keeping Minnesota slightly over the tax.)

Around the trade deadline a month later, the Wolves finalized a trade with Hawks, Rockets and Nuggets, a deal involving 12 players and three draft picks, the biggest in the league since 2000. The Wolves parted with Robert Covington, Jordan Bell, Shabazz Napier, Noah Vonleh and Keita Bates-Diop in return for Malik Beasley, Juancho Hernangomez, Evan Turner, Jarred Vanderbilt and a lottery protected Brooklyn first round pick via Atlanta. In a separate deal, the Wolves swapped Gorgui Dieng for James Johnson, one involving the Miami Heat and Memphis Grizzlies.

Through these trades, Rosas accomplished certain goals he had set out when he began revamping his roster. While people argued that Minnesota didn’t get enough value for Robert Covington, a 6’7” forward who defends all five positions, shoots 3-pointers at an efficient rate, and is on an expiring contract, the chances of him resigning in Minnesota were low.

Covington, being 29 years old, didn’t fit in nicely with the timetable of the Wolves rebuild, so Rosas flipped him for two younger floor spacers, Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangómez, two diamonds in the rough buried under the depths of the Denver Nuggets deep roster. Surrounding Karl-Anthony Towns with more shooting and creating more space was a goal of Rosas’s since the beginning, and he did so while getting younger, clearing cap space, and getting another first round pick.

Following the smaller roster moves, Rosas ended the trade season with a bang, getting the man he’s wanted since the summer to pair with Towns. The Wolves traded Andrew Wiggins, their own top-three protected 2021 first-round pick, and their 2021 second-rounder, for Jacob Evans, Omari Spellman and the prized D’Angelo Russell.

The Timberwolves had been targeting Russell since the summer, but ultimately came up short as their front office couldn’t clear the cap space necessary. Now, months later, Rosas finally got his point guard.