Timberwolves

Who Should Be On Minnesota's Wish List This Summer?

Photo Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

After losing 4-2 against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round last year, the Minnesota Timberwolves knew that changes had to be made. As we all know, the Grizzlies dominated Minnesota on the offensive and defensive glass throughout the series as they were out-rebounded in five of the six games. Even though they had Jarred Vanderbilt on the roster, it was obvious that the team would benefit from having another center to be able to clean the glass.

I went into the off-season with the hope that Tim Connelly would attempt to sign veteran big man JaVale McGee, or someone close to his caliber. I wanted a battle-tested player who would be low-cost with a potentially high reward. After all, Connelly stated that Karl-Anthony Towns might be able to play alongside a more traditional five.

However, all the speculation was put to rest when Minnesota’s front office made the loudest move of the summer, acquiring Rudy Gobert.

“We’re not going to bury our head in the sand and pretend it’s been flawless,” Connelly told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic in early December regarding the Gobert trade. “We never expected that. When we made the trade, it wasn’t done without a lot of conversation, a lot of watching of tape.”

Gobert’s transition to the Wolves hasn’t been pretty at all. However, hindsight is always 20-20, so you can’t fault Connelly all that much. He had an opportunity to bring in a three-time Defensive Player of the Year while keeping the team’s core intact.

Regardless of what your personal outlook on the Gobert trade was, Connelly and his staff face a new set of needs that this Timberwolves team is lacking after what was a lackluster 2023 season.

“You can never have enough IQ or shooting, obviously,” Connelly said when discussing this off-season. “I think those are two areas we are going to try to focus on, whether it’s the draft, trades, or free agent signings. I think we have a room full of really talented guys, I think when fully healthy, I really like our roster. But clearly, if this press conference is today and not a month and a half from now, we’re not good enough. So we have to find areas where we can improve upon, and hopefully have this press conference a bit later next year.”

Even though Connelly and the Timberwolves made two big trades in seven months, it seems like this off-season will not be dormant. So that leads us to the question, who could/should be on top of the Wolves’ wishlist as we head into the summer?

High Basketball IQ

As a team who is trying to compete for a long time, you can never have enough smart players on the roster. Even though the Timberwolves have some key veteran pieces like Mike Conley, Taurean Prince, and Kyle Anderson, a player with high basketball IQ will be a necessary part of Minnesota’s offseason acquisitions – especially at backup point guard.

Jordan McLaughlin quickly went from a fan favorite and one of the better point guards off the bench in the NBA to riding the Pine in the playoffs. During the series against Denver, McLaughlin only saw playing time for two out of the five games. He went 0-for-4 from the floor and 0-for-2 from three in 14 total minutes played.

Jaylen Nowell has also had an up-and-down season. Similar to McLaughlin, Nowell went from one of Minnesota’s key pieces off the bench to a guy who was unable to hit a shot. Nowell battled injuries most of the season, which may have hampered his performance. However, it seems unlikely that the Wolves will keep the unrestricted free agent around this off-season.

Rotations always get tighter in the playoffs, especially if you’re playing for Chris Finch. However, the Wolves could greatly benefit from having a reliable guard to come in when Mike Conley needs a rest. Below is a list of upcoming free agents who would be low-cost high-reward players that could help in this category.

Minnesota hopes to keep Naz Reid around long-term and sign Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards to massive extensions this off-season. Therefore, money will be a tough thing to come by. Luckily, there are a few cheaper players who could positively impact this Timberwolves team.

Shooting

When you have a starting five that consists of three players who either command the ball in isolation situations or play heavily in the pick-and-roll, it’s crucial to surround them with reliable shooters.

This year, Minnesota was not a great three-point shooting team. They connected on 12.2 threes per game (14th most in the NBA) while attempting 33.3 threes per game (15th most) and shooting 36.5% from deep (13th highest).

Losing Malik Beasley’s reliable shooting this off-season has absolutely killed the Wolves. So did losing the reliable offensive output that Nowell brought on a nightly basis as the season went on. Below is a list of free agents who could give the Wolves what they missed during the ‘23 season.

As was saw last season, Connelly is not afraid to pull the trigger on big, franchise-shifting trades. And while he’s already done pretty much everything he can do to the starting five, it seems as if Minnesota’s front office will be very active this off-season as they try to shore up the team’s bench depth.

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