Minnesota Timberwolves Free Agency

It’s a bit late to speculate about the free agency plans of the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise now that they have officially make some moves, so let’s recap what has happened so far first.

Losses

Andrei Kirilenko – Kirilenko opted out of his contract, which was to be expected, but he’s almost certainly gone now with a few wing additions to the roster.  The 32-year-old Russian veteran is nicknamed AK-47, and appropriately so due to his tenacious defense and “quick shots” to the basket.  Kirilenko is not only a good player, but a smart player as well.  The team will miss the veteran’s leadership, decision-making, and defensive prowess most of all.  One possibly understated value he brought to the team is the help he gives to Alexey Shved, a first-year player out of Russia.  It’s the same effect that most veteran international players have when a rookie from the same country joins the team as it gives each player an instant connection.  Shved’s development and integration into the NBA could have proceeded more efficiently with Kirilenko remaining on the roster.

Additions

Kevin Martin – This guy is a scorer, although I still can’t figure out how he does it.  He’s got one of the ugliest jump shots I’ve seen since watching Shawn Marion.  However, Martin is a more than capable shooter that can really expand the range of this team, especially when paired with Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio.  Also, Martin has played under Rick Adelman twice, once in Houston and once in Sacramento, so he’s very familiar with the system the Timberwolves will be running.  He was overshadowed last year behind 3 All-Stars in Oklahoma City, but he can be a focal point of the offense this year in Minneapolis.  He’s an excellent shooter all-around, whether from the charity stripe, behind the arc, or while popping a mid-range J.  With a natural distributor like Rubio feeding him the ball, there’s no question that Martin has the potential to average 20 ppg as he’s done in every year in which he’s started more than half of the season.

Chase Budinger – This one was really just a resigning effort, as Budinger “played” with the team last season, albeit only 6 of the games were truly meaningful as Budinger was injured 6 games into the season and only returned with 17 left.  By that time, the Timberwolves were effectively out of contention due to injuries that plagued their franchise for the whole season.  The Budinger resigning does effectively rule out a return of Kirilenko, as mentioned earlier, due to the amount and length of the contracts of Martin and Budinger, paired with the draft day trade that landed the team Shabazz Muhammad, a talented Small Forward that could be a starter within a few years at worst.  Budinger brings a lot of what Martin does to the table; he’s a career .358 shooter from downtown, but he shot .402 from three in his last lengthy season in 2011-12 with the Rockets.  Between the two, the Wolves will be able to stretch the floor very well and immediately address their outside shooting issues.  The defense, however, is unmistakably a new problem due to the loss of Kirilenko and the gains of Budinger/Martin, both of which do not excel on defense.

Question Marks

Nikola Pekovic – Sources say that the camp for Nikola Pekovic will wait until at least Dwight Howard decides where he’s going before they make any decisions.  The Wolves extended a qualifying offer to him last Thursday, basically confirming their intentions to resign him.  At this point, Pekovic is the number one priority for the Timberwolves, as he should be.  Pekovic is steadily increasing his game and still has room to grow at 27.  Signing him to a long-term deal may also help keep Kevin Love with the team which is obviously one of the most important pieces to Minnesota’s puzzle.  He may not be a defensive stopper down low, but Pekovic is an efficient scorer in the post, and his 6’11”, 290 lb frame definitely helps clog the lane.

What’s Left for the Timberwolves?

At this point, the Timberwolves may just be waiting to see if they retain C Nikola Pekovic or not.  If they do, they’ve already got a playoff caliber lineup that has some very good building blocks for the future in Rubio, Shved, Muhammad, and Love.  They also picked up Gorgui Dieng and Lorenzo Brown in this year’s draft.  Dieng could play at the 4 or 5 off the bench, depending on if Derrick Williams is moved and for what.  If they decide to keep Williams or trade him for possibly a low post player and/or other assets, then the roster will be filled out nicely for a playoff run.

By Jon Elliott
Follow @TheJontlet