2024 Wolves Free Agency

[Q-is-here]

Here’s the Wolves roster situation at the moment after the Garza announcement and assuming we sign our two draft picks:

A. REGULAR ROSTER
1. Mike Conley
2. Anthony Edwards
3. Jaden McDaniels
4. KAT
5. Rudy
6. Naz
7. NAW
8. Garza
9. Minott
10. Miller
11. Dillingham
12. Terrence Shannon Jr.

B. TWO-WAY CONTRACTS
1. Jaylen Clark
2. Jesse Edwards

So the Wolves have three regular roster spots to fill and, as usual, they will likely fill two of those and leave the third open for future flexibility. That’s certainly the smart thing to do.

This makes it easy to see TC’s plan. He has two roster spots that he’s initially seeking to fill by re-signing Anderson and Morris. So I’m sure the focus right now is on trying to sign those guys. But I’m also sure the Wolves front office folks are simultaneously having conversations with players they see as alternatives to Anderson and Morris and attempting to sell them on signing here for the vet minimum.

I consider re-signing Morris to be far more important than Kyle because we don’t have a vet backup for Conley and I don’t think it’s prudent to rely on Dillingham to fill that role, at least not in the first half of the season. While I’d like to see Kyle come back, we have a bevy of young wings - Minott, Miller, Shannon Jr - who could potentially step up and adequately fill Kyle’s roster spot. They wouldn’t provide what Kyle provides, but they could offer things Kyle doesn’t provide like athleticism and shooting. I could even see Naz taking a chunk of what would otherwise by Kyle’s minutes with more PT for Garz in the rotation of bigs.

I agree Lip, whether it's Morris, McLaughlin or someone similar that might still be out there. As of right now, Dillingham has no competition for backup PG. At least the others you mentioned have to battle it out to earn minutes off the bench. May the best man win!

[Q-is-here]

Here’s the Wolves roster situation at the moment after the Garza announcement and assuming we sign our two draft picks:

A. REGULAR ROSTER
1. Mike Conley
2. Anthony Edwards
3. Jaden McDaniels
4. KAT
5. Rudy
6. Naz
7. NAW
8. Garza
9. Minott
10. Miller
11. Dillingham
12. Terrence Shannon Jr.

B. TWO-WAY CONTRACTS
1. Jaylen Clark
2. Jesse Edwards

So the Wolves have three regular roster spots to fill and, as usual, they will likely fill two of those and leave the third open for future flexibility. That’s certainly the smart thing to do.

This makes it easy to see TC’s plan. He has two roster spots that he’s initially seeking to fill by re-signing Anderson and Morris. So I’m sure the focus right now is on trying to sign those guys. But I’m also sure the Wolves front office folks are simultaneously having conversations with players they see as alternatives to Anderson and Morris and attempting to sell them on signing here for the vet minimum.

I consider re-signing Morris to be far more important than Kyle because we don’t have a vet backup for Conley and I don’t think it’s prudent to rely on Dillingham to fill that role, at least not in the first half of the season. While I’d like to see Kyle come back, we have a bevy of young wings - Minott, Miller, Shannon Jr - who could potentially step up and adequately fill Kyle’s roster spot. They wouldn’t provide what Kyle provides, but they could offer things Kyle doesn’t provide like athleticism and shooting. I could even see Naz taking a chunk of what would otherwise by Kyle’s minutes with more PT for Garz in the rotation of bigs.

Thanks Lip for laying this out.
A couple things.

Losing Anderson means losing another PG type player as well. If the Wolves lost Anderson Morris and McLaughlin and only added 1 vet PG type then the Wolves would be pretty limited in vet depth at that position although NAW is an option too. It could mean adding a PG type via 2-way could become really important.

Which brings me to my next point which is more of a thought of where I think the situation is with the player than actual logistics. Even though Nix was not given a qualifying offer I'm not sure that means he for sure isn't on a 2-way deal it just means that the Wolves now don't have first right of refusal. It doesn't really matter though. However it does benefit Nix to in a couple ways to not be limited to being a RFA on a 2-way even if he planned to stay with the Wolves on a 2-way deal. For one thing the Wolves could sign him to another exhibit 10 contract paying him $50,000 before eventually being converted to a 2-way deal. I'll get out of the weeds on this and say that it seems like the Wolves and Nix are cool with seeing what happens this summer. Nix could find a better opportunity and the Wolves could find a better player. Maybe Nix impresses in SL and they lock him up on a 2- way deal or maybe Nix tries for more elsewhere. Nix could also be like let's see how the depth looks this summer. He could be a guy an injury away from having a chance to compete for some limited backup guard minutes.

I'll add that I can see why Morris could look elsewhere because the Wolves theoretically could have 3 guys ahead of him to play PG minutes Connelly Dilly and NAW.y guess is the Wolves are willing to pay him a chunk more than the vet min for him to stay but when will he actually play? What if Dilly is legit and playing 20mpg a game? Where is Morris gonna fit in a rotation?

But there is no way Conley is playing more than 60-65 games this year, right? Even if he avoids any major injury, I think the Wolves are going to be way more conservative with him on bumps and bruises than they were last season where winning every game possible was the most important thing. It would seem like a good bet that a guy like Morris is going to get some regular minutes, whether it's behind or ahead of Dillingham.

[Monster]

Here’s the Wolves roster situation at the moment after the Garza announcement and assuming we sign our two draft picks:

A. REGULAR ROSTER
1. Mike Conley
2. Anthony Edwards
3. Jaden McDaniels
4. KAT
5. Rudy
6. Naz
7. NAW
8. Garza
9. Minott
10. Miller
11. Dillingham
12. Terrence Shannon Jr.

B. TWO-WAY CONTRACTS
1. Jaylen Clark
2. Jesse Edwards

So the Wolves have three regular roster spots to fill and, as usual, they will likely fill two of those and leave the third open for future flexibility. That’s certainly the smart thing to do.

This makes it easy to see TC’s plan. He has two roster spots that he’s initially seeking to fill by re-signing Anderson and Morris. So I’m sure the focus right now is on trying to sign those guys. But I’m also sure the Wolves front office folks are simultaneously having conversations with players they see as alternatives to Anderson and Morris and attempting to sell them on signing here for the vet minimum.

I consider re-signing Morris to be far more important than Kyle because we don’t have a vet backup for Conley and I don’t think it’s prudent to rely on Dillingham to fill that role, at least not in the first half of the season. While I’d like to see Kyle come back, we have a bevy of young wings - Minott, Miller, Shannon Jr - who could potentially step up and adequately fill Kyle’s roster spot. They wouldn’t provide what Kyle provides, but they could offer things Kyle doesn’t provide like athleticism and shooting. I could even see Naz taking a chunk of what would otherwise by Kyle’s minutes with more PT for Garz in the rotation of bigs.

Thanks Lip for laying this out.
A couple things.

Losing Anderson means losing another PG type player as well. If the Wolves lost Anderson Morris and McLaughlin and only added 1 vet PG type then the Wolves would be pretty limited in vet depth at that position although NAW is an option too. It could mean adding a PG type via 2-way could become really important.

Which brings me to my next point which is more of a thought of where I think the situation is with the player than actual logistics. Even though Nix was not given a qualifying offer I'm not sure that means he for sure isn't on a 2-way deal it just means that the Wolves now don't have first right of refusal. It doesn't really matter though. However it does benefit Nix to in a couple ways to not be limited to being a RFA on a 2-way even if he planned to stay with the Wolves on a 2-way deal. For one thing the Wolves could sign him to another exhibit 10 contract paying him $50,000 before eventually being converted to a 2-way deal. I'll get out of the weeds on this and say that it seems like the Wolves and Nix are cool with seeing what happens this summer. Nix could find a better opportunity and the Wolves could find a better player. Maybe Nix impresses in SL and they lock him up on a 2- way deal or maybe Nix tries for more elsewhere. Nix could also be like let's see how the depth looks this summer. He could be a guy an injury away from having a chance to compete for some limited backup guard minutes.

I'll add that I can see why Morris could look elsewhere because the Wolves theoretically could have 3 guys ahead of him to play PG minutes Connelly Dilly and NAW.y guess is the Wolves are willing to pay him a chunk more than the vet min for him to stay but when will he actually play? What if Dilly is legit and playing 20mpg a game? Where is Morris gonna fit in a rotation?

But there is no way Conley is playing more than 60-65 games this year, right? Even if he avoids any major injury, I think the Wolves are going to be way more conservative with him on bumps and bruises than they were last season where winning every game possible was the most important thing. It would seem like a good bet that a guy like Morris is going to get some regular minutes, whether it's behind or ahead of Dillingham.

Sure that makes sense to me. On the other hand compare that to the Suns who currently have zero PGs on their roster. Would Morris take a vet min there to play on a supposed good team and try to rebuild himself with maybe a better path to minutes? Idk the Suns also have Booker Beal and Allen that are all gonna play but the Suns are probably gonna take it easy with at least one of those guys which would open up more minutes on those games for a guy like Morris. The vet min for Morris going into his 8th season is almost 3 million. Hypothetically what if the most the Wolves are willing to give him is 5 million? IF Morris thinks there is a much clearer path to playing time and a role giving up 2-3 million could be worth it. Look at Dennis Schroeder he was able to cash in for a pretty good deal after playing well for the Lakers...again. Honestly I don't know what is the most the Wolves should be willing to offer Morris especially if it's more than 1 year. I want him back but I can see why it might be far from a done deal depending on what the Wolves are willing to offer him in terms of salary.

[Phenom]

It seemed Morris didn't love his role down the stretch and I'd be surprised if he is looking forward to competing with Dilly for minutes. Wolves need an extra guy in case of injury but he might have a more clearly defined role elsewhere. Phoenix is said to be interested. Giving him a little more money and telling him he could be traded if the minutes don't come might be a path that benefits both sides

[kekgeek]

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings are showing interest in Lauri Markkanen, per @JakeLFischer

“In addition to Golden State, Sacramento and San Antonio have been the two other teams characterized by league figures with knowledge of the situation as strong possible suitors for Markkanen at this point. For the Kings to land Markkanen, NBA personnel believe the Jazz would require Sacramento to part with Keegan Murray, and that might leave other trade options like Brandon Ingram as a more palatable outcome for the Kings. Minnesota has shown interest in Markkanen as well, sources said. Philadelphia never appeared to place real attention on Markkanen throughout the Sixers’ long approach of finding a third star to slot between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.”

(Via yhoo.it/3VQgixc)

[BloopOracle]

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings are showing interest in Lauri Markkanen, per @JakeLFischer

“In addition to Golden State, Sacramento and San Antonio have been the two other teams characterized by league figures with knowledge of the situation as strong possible suitors for Markkanen at this point. For the Kings to land Markkanen, NBA personnel believe the Jazz would require Sacramento to part with Keegan Murray, and that might leave other trade options like Brandon Ingram as a more palatable outcome for the Kings. Minnesota has shown interest in Markkanen as well, sources said. Philadelphia never appeared to place real attention on Markkanen throughout the Sixers’ long approach of finding a third star to slot between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.”

(Via yhoo.it/3VQgixc)

Tim is a madman for even trying lol

[kekgeek]

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings are showing interest in Lauri Markkanen, per @JakeLFischer

“In addition to Golden State, Sacramento and San Antonio have been the two other teams characterized by league figures with knowledge of the situation as strong possible suitors for Markkanen at this point. For the Kings to land Markkanen, NBA personnel believe the Jazz would require Sacramento to part with Keegan Murray, and that might leave other trade options like Brandon Ingram as a more palatable outcome for the Kings. Minnesota has shown interest in Markkanen as well, sources said. Philadelphia never appeared to place real attention on Markkanen throughout the Sixers’ long approach of finding a third star to slot between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.”

(Via yhoo.it/3VQgixc)

Tim is a madman for even trying lol

I honestly have no idea how the wolves could even acquire him legally.

Wolves can’t obtain more salary: so Naz does not work.

Wolves can’t aggregate players in a trade: so combining Naz + other pieces does not work.

Wolves have no first round picks to trade (technically can eliminate protections on that 2029 pick).

Then why do the Jazz do Lauri for either Kat or Jaden?

[Coolbreeze44]

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings are showing interest in Lauri Markkanen, per @JakeLFischer

“In addition to Golden State, Sacramento and San Antonio have been the two other teams characterized by league figures with knowledge of the situation as strong possible suitors for Markkanen at this point. For the Kings to land Markkanen, NBA personnel believe the Jazz would require Sacramento to part with Keegan Murray, and that might leave other trade options like Brandon Ingram as a more palatable outcome for the Kings. Minnesota has shown interest in Markkanen as well, sources said. Philadelphia never appeared to place real attention on Markkanen throughout the Sixers’ long approach of finding a third star to slot between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.”

(Via yhoo.it/3VQgixc)

Tim is a madman for even trying lol

I honestly think TC is worth every penny he makes and then some. I'd hold on to him like it's Ant.

[rapsuperstar31]

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings are showing interest in Lauri Markkanen, per @JakeLFischer

“In addition to Golden State, Sacramento and San Antonio have been the two other teams characterized by league figures with knowledge of the situation as strong possible suitors for Markkanen at this point. For the Kings to land Markkanen, NBA personnel believe the Jazz would require Sacramento to part with Keegan Murray, and that might leave other trade options like Brandon Ingram as a more palatable outcome for the Kings. Minnesota has shown interest in Markkanen as well, sources said. Philadelphia never appeared to place real attention on Markkanen throughout the Sixers’ long approach of finding a third star to slot between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.”

(Via yhoo.it/3VQgixc)

Tim is a madman for even trying lol

I honestly have no idea how the wolves could even acquire him legally.

Wolves can’t obtain more salary: so Naz does not work.

Wolves can’t aggregate players in a trade: so combining Naz + other pieces does not work.

Wolves have no first round picks to trade (technically can eliminate protections on that 2029 pick).

Then why do the Jazz do Lauri for either Kat or Jaden?

Would have to be a three way Kat to Houston, Houston sends picks and players to Utah.

[60WinTim]

Tim is a madman for even trying lol

I honestly have no idea how the wolves could even acquire him legally.

Wolves can’t obtain more salary: so Naz does not work.

Wolves can’t aggregate players in a trade: so combining Naz + other pieces does not work.

Wolves have no first round picks to trade (technically can eliminate protections on that 2029 pick).

Then why do the Jazz do Lauri for either Kat or Jaden?

Would have to be a three way Kat to Houston, Houston sends picks and players to Utah.

I believe Utah has the cap space available to absorb a straight up swap of KAT for Lauri. It is an interesting exercise. It would not only drop the Wolves under both aprons, but might even clear the luxury tax threshold (barely).

I suppose that's one way to replace SloMo!