The Minnesota Timberwolves finally have Ricky Rubio. Will David Kahn add anything else to the cupboard?
Dec 8, 2011 - The Minnesota Timberwolves are finally on the path to revival that began sometime around 2006! We think. Ricky Rubio is in North America (presumably to play basketball), Minnesota has a coach with a strong record of success in Rick Adelman and the No. 2 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft -- Derrick Williams -- looks like a real gem.
Now what will GM David Kahn do in this critical offseason?
Here's a look at the Wolves' salary cap levels over the past six seasons.
As soon as the Wolves traded Kevin Garnett, the team tanked hard. Understandably, so did the salary level the team maintained. It went sharply down last season as the Wolves sent off Al Jefferson for basically nothing.
Despite that, heading into free agency, the Wolves have a cap figure of $48.6 million with the leaguewide team salary cap set at $58 million and the luxury tax line at $70 million. That's spread between 13 players -- that's right, the Wolves already have what is basically a full roster before free agency begins. Minnesota has the space to add a few pieces or extra salary in a trade.
The Wolves' sole free agent is Sebastian Telfair. With Rubio's arrival and Luke Ridnour's place as Ricky's mentor taken, it's unlikely that Bassy will return.
The Wolves have plenty of latitude to make moves with a roster full of weirdly intriguing prospects (Michael Beasley, Anthony Randolph, Nikola Pekovic, any number of international players like Paulao Prestes and Nemanja Bjelica). But it seems like this is a(nother) building year than a splash year. With Love, Williams and Rubio, it seems like the core of a good team could be within Minnesota's reach. Will Kahn mess with it in a bid to save his job? We'll find out.
If anyone of note is moved, my bet's on Beasley, who seems destined to be the odd man out in the forward rotation. If there's a position where the Wolves desperately need help, it's center, where Darko Milicic still isn't getting it done.
For more on the Wolves, visit SB Nation's Canis Hoopus.
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Dec 8
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Dec 8
