Windhorst: Wolves to Remain Active This Summer

After officially announcing their intentions to resume the 2019-2020 season late last week, the NBA has been working feverishly to address a litany of questions surrounding their “return to play” proposal. Who gets a golden ticket to Disney World? What happens to the eight teams that don’t get to visit Space Mountain? How does this proposal affect the NBA Lottery and NBA Draft? How long can the Lakers hang out by the pool before it’s the Clippers turn?

Some of these questions are obviously far more important than others. As it pertains to the Timberwolves, there are very few Orlando-specific inquiries that directly affect them — because of their lousy record, the team will not be participating in any additional regular season games, meaning their offseason has officially kicked off. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve heard the last of the New Wolves Order this summer.

As Woj (and Bobby Marks) reported earlier this week, the NBA’s new “transaction window” for teams to convert two-way players and sign free agents will extend to all 30 teams, not just the 22 franchises invited to Orlando.

Marks added that of the eight non-Orlando teams, five of them currently have an open roster spot, including Minnesota. As Dane Moore outlines below, this latest news about the “transaction window” is fairly significant, especially from a salary cap perspective:

While there is still a plethora of questions surrounding what the salary cap will look like going forward, the ability for Gersson Rosas and his staff to wiggle under the cap (while also staying active in the transaction market) is important to talk about. As Marks mentioned above in his tweet, another non-playoff team strategically used the final week of last season to sign two unfamiliar faces at the time, both of whom have quickly blossomed for the (now) contending Miami Heat. Could Minnesota be in a similar position this time around?

On the latest edition of the “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” podcast, Windy confirmed this speculation by saying:

“I heard that Minnesota was one of the teams who was VERY interested in whether or not this was something they could do.”

That “something” being the ability to continue making transactions — i.e. sign free agents, convert two-ways, etc. Since arriving in Minneapolis last spring, Rosas and his front office have made it abundantly clear that they would be aggressive not only in shopping around for star talent, but also exploring all corners of the CBA in order to gain a competitive advantage against the rest of the league.

Could this mean we finally get a resolution as it pertains to Omari Spellman? What about our beloved Jordan McLaughlin? Is Jacob Evans still a thing? Has Evan Turner phoned (his new) home?

While their season may have officially ended in terms of wins and losses, don’t expect the Wolves to completely yield all forms of competition, including roster moves and financial decisions. This amplified form of aggression *could* give the team a (much-needed) head start as they approach one of the most important seasons in franchise history.