NBA Free Agency: The Sneaky Value of the Wolves’ Moves on the Margins

of Minnesota Timberwolves We’ve thoroughly enjoyed a summer of excitement following an earthquake July that transformed the team into a potential powerhouse in the Western Conference for the first time in nearly 20 years.

After a coup d’état, he convinced one of the league’s most respected decision-makers, Basketball Operations President Tim Connelly, to relinquish his post to lead his rivals. Denver Nuggetsknew that minority stakeholders Mark Roar and Alex Rodriguez were not going to sit on the sidelines when another transformative opportunity presented itself.

The Wolves’ Brain Trust fully understands and agrees with the moment they stepped in and capitalized on it, earning Hall of Fame induction in All-NBA center Rudy Gobert. Acquisition of proven players is clearly an important step for teams, cities and owner groups yearning for sustainable relevance, but it also has an often overlooked ripple effect. rice field.

First day after joining NBA Free AgencyGobert, when combined with Connery-like capable executives, became the skeleton key used by the diversely talented and empowered Timberwolves front office to unlock the best supporting effects of the deal. rice field. Health insurance.

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The team reached an agreement with Kyle Anderson 48 hours before Gobert landed, no doubt selling the veteran Swiss Army Knife to help bolt the upstart. memphis grizzlies A team for budding conference rivals.

Minnesota continued to bolster their back end by signing veteran guards Austin Rivers and Bryn Forbes to veteran minimal deals.

As a piece of cake, Connery and Co. were able to strike a two-way deal with Eric Pascal, a member of the 2019-20 NBA All-Rookie First Team who was looking for a home to reignite his NBA career.

Small market teams to 1) trade All-NBA quality players with 4 years of team control eager to join your franchise and 2) support 3 star players Rarely can you legally tune it in deep enough: Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards.

Still, the wolf pulled it off. And because they did, they not only paved a sure path to his 2023 playoffs, but that journey didn’t have to be difficult.

It’s probably not on your mind right now, but Edwards’ lingering knee problem has caused everyone involved with the Wolves, from fans to players to executives, to catch their breath.

Early in Game 3 of the first round series against Memphis, Edwards started grabbing his right knee after lifting the ball to the floor out of nowhere. That was worrying to say the least for a 20-year-old with otherworldly athletic abilities.

Edwards burned down left patellar tendinitis in his knee for a good portion of last season.

His fellow starting guard D’Angelo Russell missed 12 games in the 2021-22 season due to injury and lingering muscle soreness, but even though he missed the final two games of the season, he still had the best performance in the playoffs. was not in a state. Allowing Russell to reach his full potential is crucial to the Timberwolves’ hopes of securing home-court advantage in the playoffs next spring. Back-up floor general Jordan McLaughlin has shown throughout the season that he has plenty of ability to produce good offense for his teammates and needs to capitalize on it more next season.

And finally, Towns undertook a small cleanup procedure after the season to fix the wear and tear that he battled as a bruise on the inside 5. Incredibly, Towns has only missed two games aside from his six when he was knocked out by COVID-19. Like Edwards, Towns takes great pride in showing up for his teammates every night and was willing to put his body on the line every night last season to make the playoffs.

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The good news for them all is that getting rid of severe pain and lingering injuries for a long period of time next season won’t be a prerequisite for a playoff appearance. Not only do you need it, but you should be able to put it all the way in if you can effectively maximize your depth.

Not only will Gobert beat out less Towns, but each of the Wolves’ bench-depth signings this offseason will make life easier for the team’s returning “Big Three” next season.

taurus prince

Leading the way here is Taurean Prince, who was re-signed by the Wolves just before free agency began. Rocker His calming presence as the voice of a respected veteran in his room and his pressure-relieving Knockdown shooter work wonders on nights when Towns isn’t available.

Prince has no problem firing from 3. He shot his 7.0 his 3 seconds per 36 minutes in his 37.6% clip. Additionally, the floor spacing he provides serves as an important bridge between Jaden McDaniels (or Anderson) and Gobert.

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Kyle Anderson

Minnesota acquired a versatile defender in Anderson. He showed the chops in last season’s playoffs to properly defend players ranging from quick guards to bruised heavyweights and mostly in between his two. He also makes a good small ball 5 next to Towns. Those skills, combined with his ball-handling and creative abilities, make him an option to fill not only in the frontcourt, but also in the backcourt, where he can support offense as a floor general.Anderson’s assist-to-utilization ratio (0.97) is , ranked in his 93rd percentile last season. glass cleaning.

How his role will change depends on whether the aforementioned Edwards, Russell or Townes misses time. But given his diverse and complementary skill set and his extensive experience as a starter and bench engine, Wolves can trust him to raise or lower the throttle accordingly. Additionally, he blends seamlessly with players such as Jaylen Nowell, McDaniels, and Prince who would be assigned a heavier workload in such cases.

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Austin Rivers and Bryn Forbes

Rivers came to Minnesota from Denver and served as the team’s primary defender while on the floor against the opposing lead ball handler (Canis Hoopus contributor Aidan Berg wrote about Rivers’ defensive chops yesterday). are available). here). The former Duke star can sometimes create his own shots as a complementary guard off the dribble and has a great understanding of the space to play around the star. That alone would allow him to have an impactful time on the bench/starter blend alongside Townes and Gobert on a night without Russell or Edwards.

Similarly, Forbes is a light-out shooter. He’s not a plus defender, so he’ll probably need to be with Gobert or Anderson, but he can easily fill in as a scoring bench guard. against small teams that J-Mac can pull off in his drive-and-kick game against McLaughlin (and the Jumbo frontcourt). I wouldn’t be surprised to see them play in the stretch side by side.

Nate Knight and Eric Pascal

Knight and Pascal are upgrades from Jake Layman and McKinley Wright IV at the end of the bench, and it’s safe to say they are game-affecting figures on offense.

Knight has proven that his rare blend of physical and athletic prowess as a backup player has the potential to contribute at the NBA level at the height of the league’s COVID outbreak. He scored his 20 points, won 11 boards and dealt 4 his dimes. It was all a career high. boston celtics December 27th.

He has the size to fill a backup four and the aggression and instincts needed to contribute offensively on nights when frontcourt players are absent. His defense seems spotty, but if his three-pointer-his shot can evolve into a more consistent form, he’ll be a capable fill-in off the bench.

The same goes for Pascal. His shooting and scoring are NBA-experienced and well-qualified two-way avenues to revive his playing career. He thinks he’ll get a lot of rep as the Wolves’ player to watch in Iowa, which will help him condition and confidence while also being ready to play when called up to the NBA roster. guaranteed.

Wolves, given the strength of their bench, are uniquely positioned to survive and thrive on nights when premier players need to be off for load management. The enthusiasm is understandable, but it might be wise for the Timberwolves not to push when Edwards and Towns are being beaten in the regular season. Depth of an expertly reorganized roster.

The typical long game the Timberwolves have played has involved a ping-pong ball, but Minnesota’s acquisition of Rudy Gobert (and the bench filling as a result of that move) meant that the long game has unlocked a new level of Instead of playing long games aimed at optimizing lottery odds, this one wins by optimizing legitimate championship windows. preparing for war When playoff NBA basketball returns to Target Center next April.