The Minnesota Timberwolves front office is beginning to slide
By Ethan Becker
The Minnesota Timberwolves struck out in a position of need
Minnesota went into this free agency period with one goal: find a big man. Someone to back up Karl-Anthony Towns and Juan Hernangomez, and whose game preferable complimented one or both of those player’s games.
Here’s a list of guys available at those positions (PF and C): Christian Wood, Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors, Tristan Thompson, and Marc Gasol. Here’s who they got: Ed Davis. And they got him in a trade.
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Now, no disrespect to Davis, he’s actually a very nice fit for the team. But the problem is that there were a lot of better and/or more exciting options available. Without any word on whether or not the guys listed above would have wanted to come to Minnesota (Gasol likely wouldn’t have, but Wood might have etc.), one has to assume that this move was made purely to save a little bit of money.
And there’s the issue. Minnesota, and in turn Glen Taylor, has always been reluctant to spend money when they (he) need (needs) to. And this doesn’t just apply to free agency. A contract dispute was one reason cited in the departure of both Kevin Love and Kevin Garnett, and was reportedly what was holding Minnesota back from re-signing McLaughlin.
And saving money and biding your time for a key draft pick or two is all fine and good for a rebuilding team with eyes on the lottery, but then Minnesota signs Malik Beasley to a four-year, $60 million contract as a restricted free agent.
Now, restricted free agency could’ve worked in Beasley’s favor, in that the Minnesota Timberwolves would’ve been forced to match a higher offer sheet than they would’ve liked, except the Wolves signed Beasley before any competing offers were even reported on. And considering how widely these things are reported on nowadays, that likely means there weren’t any made.
And then, this weekend, we had the icing on the cake. Because of the contracts Minnesota has on the books currently, which would send them into the luxury tax with one more paycheck, Minnesota had to waive Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.