Timberpups to Timberwolves - July 11th, 2017

Timberpups to Timberwolves

July 11th, 2017

As a Wolves fan I am very intrigued to see what noise they can make next year. Minnesota has not saw our NBA team even reach the playoffs since Kevin Garnett was in a uniform...the first time. Finally, we made some offseason noise and I will break some of it down.

The first move that I loved might surprise you...WAIVING NIKOLA PEKOVIC. Pek was projected to make 11.6 million for the 2018 NBA Season and already earned 12.1 million in 2017. The problem with that is that he has never played a complete season and has only played 97 games in the past three seasons. Yeah he averaged more than 16 points in the 2013 and 2014 seasons but you know what they say, your best ability is availability.

The second move I love was of course the most groundbreaking one and it was acquiring Jimmy Butler while still getting to draft in the first round (Justin Patton.) Of course we had to part ways with a promising offensive weapon in Zach LaVine who always impresses with his leaping ability but Jimmy Butler is in his prime and brings a defensive force that the two time slam dunk winner could not seem to bring. Moreover, it was Zach's contract year and given he is coming off injury and that reaction he gave when he initially got drafted it is my hunch that he wouldn't sign an extension or Thibs would overpay to keep him.

The last source of joy I got from Minnesota's offseason so far is their free agent moves. How does adding Jeff Teague, Taj Gibson and Jamal Crawford sound? It sounds phenomenal. First, we got a scoring capable point guard with little drop-off in playmaking with Teague after trading Ricky Rubio away. Then, we address our interior depth because the combination of Cole Aldrich, Adrian Payne and Jordan Hill (who has been waived) was not cutting it. Minnesota grabbed a veteran in Taj Gibson who brings toughness and a defensive presence to a team who was not intimidating defensively last year. Lastly, the fan favorite Jamal Crawford move addresses something that the Wolves could not do effectively last year...perimeter shooting! Minnesota was dead last in threes made per game last year and Crawford should help with that off the bench.

Moving forward we know the core is a problem to reckon with in the Western Conference. However, the one thing that worries me is spacing. With Teague, Wiggins and Butler all being get to the basket type players, I wonder how the spacing is going to look on the floor. With seasoning the team will eventually look more fluid but I do expect some growing pains with Towns, Butler and Wiggins all getting the touches they deserve. Additionally, off the bench after Jamal Crawford and Gorgui Deng everyone is sort of an enigma as far as bringing consistent impact. Both Nemanja Bjelica and the hometown favorite in Tyus Jones look like they can possibly be promising but I feel like more is needed. Maybe the rookie center Justin Patton can bring valuable rotational minutes but I do think the bench is something that needs to be addressed.