After the Toronto Raptors acquired forward CJ Miles from the Indiana Pacers in a sign-and-trade last week, it was reported that Miles and the Minnesota Timberwolves had agreed to a deal, but Minnesota’s lack of cap space complicated things. Indiana — who ultimately landed guard Cory Joseph — reportedly wanted the first round pick Minnesota acquired from Utah in the Ricky Rubio trade.
Minnesota’s unwillingness to move that pick shows Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden’s commitment to the future, despite building a win-now roster this summer.
Wanting to keep what will likely be a late first round pick (assuming the Russell Westbrook and Paul George experiment does not blow up) doesn’t sound like much, but it confirms the Wolves have a plan beyond the next two years.
The late first round pick might not ever play meaningful minutes for the Wolves. If the pick eventually becomes any type of significant player, it’s a bonus for Minnesota. The guaranteed value is the rookie contract.
Starting next season, the Wolves will no longer have the luxury of paying 20-point scorers a rookie-scale contract
Starting next season, the Wolves will no longer have the luxury of paying 20-point scorers a rookie-scale contract. Andrew Wiggins will be the first to receive a large contract next summer, followed by Karl-Anthony Towns. Once Minnesota is paying the young duo and Jimmy Butler, it will be much more difficult to fill out the rest of the roster.
By 2019-20, the Wolves will have $16 million committed to Gorgui Dieng, massive contracts to Wiggins and Towns, Jeff Teague’s $19 million dollar player option and Jimmy Butler will likely opt-out of his player option because there’s no way he should play for under $20 million with the modern-day salary cap. If all five players are on the roster, it’s a conservative estimate to put total at $100 million. Even if the ownership is willing to pay the luxury tax, signing free agents is not going to be an option. The team will need as many cheap contracts as it can get.
Being hesitant to move the Oklahoma City pick wasn’t the first decision the Timberwolves front office made that was influenced by 2019 and beyond. So far this offseason, Minnesota has added Teague, Taj Gibson and Jamal Crawford (not official yet) in free agency. All three players are 29 or older and will make around $37 million combined for the next two seasons, but Teague’s $19 million player option is the only money potentially on the books for 2019-20.
By adding Gibson, Crawford and Teague, Minnesota has added 234 games of playoff experience to a roster that had 102 Cole Aldrich minutes of playoff experience. After failing to meet lofty expectations in Thibodeau’s first season, the message is very clear. He wants to win now.
The Wolves front office entered this summer in a rare spot where their best two players were set to make under $14 million. This allowed them to spend money to build a playoff-ready roster around them. The money will always matter, but the length of the contracts are far more important at this stage. By refusing to give any free agent a fourth year (or even a guaranteed third year for that matter,) the Wolves have set the table to keep their core of Wiggins, Towns and Butler around for as long as possible.
Thibodeau, Layden and company certainly appear to be all-in for next season, but until they either sell the future rookie contract or commit money beyond the 2018-19 season, they have not lost sight of the big picture.
