UNDER CONTRACT: F Kevin Love, F Derrick Williams, C Nikola Pekovic, G J.J. Barea, G Brandon Roy, F Andrei Kirilenko, G Luke Ridnour, G Ricky Rubio, F Dante Cunningham, F Chase Budinger, G Alexey Shved, C Greg Stiemsma, G Malcolm Lee, F Lou Amundson
DRAFT PICKS: None
FREE AGENTS: None
MOVES: Before free agency, the Wolves traded their first-round pick to Houston for Chase Budinger, who adds clutter to a crowded wing position where no one has stepped forward to take charge. Then free agency began, also described by one writer as “Dances with Wolves.” Minnesota GM David Kahn signed two restricted free agents and landed one. First, he gave Portland’s Nicolas Batum an offer sheet of $46.5 million over four years after the teams spent more than a week unsuccessfully trying to arrange a trade. Minnesota wanted to deal draft picks and was unwilling to part with Nikola Pekovic or Derrick Williams, and Portland matched the offer. To create the cap room needed to sign Batum, the Wolves finally began getting rid of some excess by not making a qualifying offer to Michael Beasley, who signed with Phoenix; waiving Martell Webster; and trading center Brad Miller and two second-round picks to New Orleans for a conditional second-rounder. Webster and Miller had options with small guarantees, and Minnesota saved nearly $10 million while clearing some of its roster clutter. Kahn also renounced the rights to Anthony Tolliver and Anthony Randolph, the former signing with Atlanta and the latter signing with Denver. After Portland matched on Batum, Kahn targeted Boston’s Greg Stiemsma, waiting weeks before he officially signed him to a one-year, $3 million offer sheet. By that time, the Celtics only had their $1.9 million bi-annual exception available and could not match, making Stiemsma the backup to Pekovic. Other developments saw Kahn make a potential low-risk, high-reward move by signing Brandon Roy, who missed all of last season and was thought to be done due to degenerative knee issues but has undergone platelet-rich plasma therapy. Roy cost just $10.4 million over two years, and the second year reportedly is not guaranteed. If healthy, Roy could be the answer to the position’s problems. The Wolves also signed a three-year deal with Alexey Shved, a shooting guard on the Russian national team. Kahn used the amnesty provision on Darko Milicic, who had two years left on his deal and was due $5.2 million next season. He also sent guard Wayne Ellington to Memphis for Dante Cunningham. Kahn refused to accept defeat on Batum, jumping into a three-team deal with Phoenix and New Orleans in which he sent Wesley Johnson and a lottery-protected first-round pick to the Suns and received Jerome Dyson and two second-round picks from the Hornets. By taking back very little in salary, the Wolves had enough cap room to land Andrei Kirilenko with a two-year, $20 million deal. Right before training camp, Kahn convinced banger Lou Amundson to take the veteran’s minimum and help with the push for the playoffs. Kahn infuriated some fellow GMs and went way down on his list of desired players. But ultimately, his wheeling and dealing received a stamp of approval from All-Star Kevin Love, who was happy that the “bad blood” had been removed from the locker room.
TO-DO LIST: There is one roster spot left and Minnesota is said to have some interest in Mickael Pietrus. But the Wolves entered the offseason with clutter at shooting guard and now have a similar issue at small forward, where Kirilenko is in front of Budinger and Cunningham, rotation players in their previous stops. That logjam will marginalize the minutes at the 3-spot for Derrick Williams, whose best position may be power forward. Unfortunately, that is also Love’s position, where he is the best in the game. With Roy and Shved on board, there will be no need for point guards J.J. Barea and Luke Ridnour to play off the ball once Ricky Rubio returns from his torn ACL. Ridnour has been mentioned in trade rumors. Kahn has reduced some of the redundancy on his roster, added a backup big man and has some trade assets to tweak his roster should he choose to.
PROJECTION: As long as Love and Rubio are around, the Wolves will have an upward trajectory for the next couple of years. The question is whether they will improve enough to break through and make the postseason. Roy and Kirilenko will help add some veteran leadership to a young team that needs to be shown the way a bit. They will have to hang around while Rubio rehabs, but the playoffs are not out of the realm of possibility if Williams and Shved become consistent contributors.
(RELATED: What grade did the Timberwolves get?)
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Kinda seems like Kahn is going for the quantity over quality approach. A series of low risk moves (Roy, Shved, Bud) and the rumored interest in Courtney Lee kind of tells me that Kahn doesn’t really have a plan. He’s just going to acquire as many wings as possible and hope 1 or 2 stick.
That being said, that group of wings is an upgrade over Webster, Wes Johnson, and Wayne Ellington. It also enables them to move Ridnour/Barea for a rotational big man to backup Love/Pek once Rubio returns.
PG: Rubio, Ridnour/Barea
SG: Roy, Courtney Lee, Shved, Malcolm Lee
SF: Budinger, Derrick Williams, Cunningham (rumored Ellington trade)
PF: Love, Tolliver
C: Pekovic, Stiemsma
The latest interest in Kirilenko makes it pretty obvious that Kahn had a really bad plan in place heading into the offseason. Darren Wolfson is a local media member who follows the Wolves closely and has contacts within the team’s FO. He reported that the Wolves contacted 15 players when FA started, and Kirilenko was not on that list. This tells me Kahn has swung and missed and outsmarted himself in some cases to be this far down on his list of players.
I was the same to you.