In advance of Monday’s deadline, the Wolves have reduced their roster to the 15 player limit by waiving camp invitees Rasual Butler and Toure’ Murry. For now, the other player with a non-guaranteed contract, John Lucas III, remains with the team.
Rumor had it that they Wolves would keep Lucas III on the roster, though it means the team currently has four point guards and a real shortage of wings. With Butler’s release, they are down to four wing players: Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad, and Brandon Rush.
Darren Wolfson reports:
Other move below. Lucas III sticking is no surprise. Bottom of roster will remain fluid. #twolves https://t.co/imDZwmcojP
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) October 22, 2016
Bottom of the roster remains fluid indeed; it more or less has to. Four wing players is not sustainable for very long, and something will have to be done. Whether that means picking up another team’s discard and dropping someone currently on the roster, or making a trade, the roster will need balancing at some point in the not too distant future.
There has been chatter about the possibility that Tyus Jones and/or Payne are not long for the Wolves one way or another, and of course they could still be working to come up with a way to get Pek off the roster. Those seem like the three most likely players to be sacrificed, though Lucas III probably doesn’t really deserve a spot. It appears Tom Thibodeau’s familiarity has landed him a job, at least temporarily.
Murry was always a major longshot to make the team, but I would have bet on Butler being the one to stick around at the beginning of camp. He failed to impress, however, and despite the Wolves’ need for wing depth, won’t be sticking around. I’m not sold on Lucas III being any better, but it’s clear Thibs has a comfort level with him.
The current roster:
Point Guards
Ricky Rubio
Kris Dunn
Tyus Jones
John Lucas III
Wings
Andrew Wiggins
Zach LaVine
Shabazz Muhammad
Brandon Rush
Bigs
Karl-Anthony Towns
Gorgui Dieng
Nemanja Bjelica
Cole Aldrich
Jordan Hill
Adreian Payne
Nikola Pekovic
We’ll see if anything changes in the next few days or weeks.