(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Five available NBA free agents who could make sense with Wolves
Who is left at this point aside from a bunch of Summer League hopefuls? Well, actually quite a few useful veterans.
July 20, 2017 at 2:28PM
The Timberwolves officially introduced Jamal Crawford to the media on Wednesday, giving them 11 players on a 15-man roster. That means their offseason shopping isn't done yet.
But who is left at this point aside from a bunch of Summer League hopefuls? Well, actually quite a few useful players. As Jerry Zgoda notes, the NBA free agent market was impacted this year by a combination of last year's frenzy (leaving some teams strapped) and a lower-than-expected salary cap number this year.
So while the Wolves have already made a bevy of moves this offseason — adding Jimmy Butler via trade plus Jeff Teague, Taj Gibson and Crawford via free agency — they still have a little (not a lot) of money left over to sign a few more players to veteran minimum ($2.3 million) deals.
As the remaining market sorts itself out, the Wolves could be an attractive destination.
"There are a number of guys we're talking to and they're waiting," coach and personnel boss Tom Thibodeau said. "So you're trying to weigh all that out. It'll be interesting to see everything unfolds."
Here is a quick look, then, at five remaining free agents who could make some sense if the price is right. All of these players are over 30:
*C.J. Watson: The veteran point played for Thibodeau in Chicago. He's been a good three-point shooter over the course of his career (37.3 percent) and would provide insurance against a Teague injury or Tyus Jones' progress stalling. The Wolves need a third point guard of some sort.
*Tony Allen: He's past his days as a starter, but he's still an excellent defensive wing player who won a championship in Boston when Thibodeau was an assistant there a decade ago.
*Mike Dunleavy: A versatile, 6-9 player who can defend multiple positions and shoots close to 38 percent from three-point range for his career. He also has a connection to Thibodeau, having played for him with the Bulls. He would make a lot of sense at the right price.
*Anthony Morrow: This team needs shooters, and Morrow (41.7 percent for his career from three-point range) could offer that.
*Andrew Bogut: He's had injury trouble and was limited last year, but he played in at least 67 games each of previous three seasons. He's a very good veteran post defender, and this team could use another one of those even after signing Gibson.
Anthony Edwards was left frustrated by the officiating after the Wolves surged back only to lose when Golden State's star went on a shooting tear.