Timberwolves Sitting at the Kids’ Table of NBA Free Agency

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Jul 3, 2018
PHOTO: Carlos Gonzalez - Star Tribune

PHOTO: Carlos Gonzalez – Star Tribune

The NBA offseason, free agency in particular, is sending monsoon style waves throughout the sports world.

However, one summer after making a significant splash of their own, the proverbial waters in the land known for it’s 10,000 (plus) lakes, have remained relatively calm.

After closing up the month of June by waiving Minnesota native Cole Aldrich, the Timberwolves swan dove into the start of free agency by re-signing the 29 year-old, Derrick Rose.

Before moving onto Monday’s roster moves, I’d like to let the (current) record show that I was way off on this whole D-Rose experiment. That’s my bad. I f*cked up, okay. Sue me. Mistakes happen.

Despite frustration surrounding the late season acquisition of the former MVP, thus far, this whole Derrick Rose experiment has played out well-beyond any of my expectations.

With Jamal Crawford basically out the door, bringing back the Tom Thibodeau favorite for just over $2 million is a no-brainer. In the absurdly wealthy world that is the NBA, that amount of money is pocket change. Case and point:

Anywho, now that I have a clear(er) conscience, here’s how your Minnesota Timberwolves started out their work week:

With Minnesota withdrawing a nearly $5 million qualifying offer, it’s evident that the organization is willing to part ways with the Serbian-born, Nemanja Bjelicia. By reasonable accounts, the artist known as Bjelly will be onto his next one.

Bjelicia’s Wolves career:

As for Tom Thibodeau’s team’s newest addition, Anthony Tolliver, first and foremost, it’s evident that he fancies himself a sniper:

Tolliver, who spent the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons with the Wolves, is fresh off a career-best shooting year. As a member of the lowly Detroit Pistons, Tolliver’s most recent campaign saw him average 2.0 made three pointers (4.6 attempts) per game.

Second of all, the 6’8″ 240 pound veteran can defend. Early indications are that Tolliver will basically slide right into, what was formerly, Bjelicia’s bench role. With all due respect to Nemanja, Tolliver’s ability to effectively guard multiple positions is far superior.

Hey, speaking of being able to guard multiple positions:

While Minnesota’s handful of moves seem logical, in the grand scheme of NBA things, their current list of completed transactions is child’s play.

Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN)
MinnesotaSportsFan.com

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