Examining Why the Timberwolves Haven't Signed Trey Kaufman-Renn Yet

It's no secret that the Minnesota Timberwolves are dealing with a salary cap crunch.

It's not quite a roster crunch, as there are two vacant slots. But they have yet to sign No. 59 overall pick Trey Kaufman-Renn, the final of the Wolves two second-round picks in this year's draft, but there's some free-agent buzz as well.

Adding to the complicated formula: the Wolves don't currently have any two-way contract slots available, either.

If the Wolves are going to keep Kaufman-Renn, what are the possible outcomes for the rookie big man, and how might the Wolves be exploring utilizing the end of their roster?

Kaufman-Renn signing a standard contract may hinge on Kuminga

The Wolves are still keeping a roster spot open for a possible free agent signing. At this point, it's likely Jonathan Kuminga or bust. If he doesn't sign, there isn't a whole lot out there that would move the needle at this stage of free agency.

It's possible that a Kevin Love or Kelly Olynyk type ends up being targeted to round out the end of the bench, add frontcourt depth, and fill the leadership vacuum created with the departures of Mike Conley, Joe Ingles, and Kyle Anderson. But that's really the only scenario in which the final signing involves a non-Kuminga free agent.

It's worth pointing out once again thhat this is more of a salary cap crunch situation than a roster one. But the Wolves only have $3.98 million worth of space under the second apron for their two roster spots. If they sign Kuminga to a veteran minimum deal that clocks in at $3.06 million, they won't have enough room to sign anyone else in spot No. 15, including Kaufman-Renn.

If signed to a standard contract, Kaufman-Renn will only be paid the same $1.35 million that fellow second-round pick Isaiah Evans is making. If the Wolves ink him to that deal, they will have a little over $2.62 million to spend.

If all the publicly available numbers are accurate, the Wolves could then choose to sign a player with three years of experience or less to a veteran's minimum deal. Obviously, that excludes Kuminga, as well as the aforementioned Love and Olynyk, who would each be making north of $3.87 million as veterans with more than 10 years of experience.

Remember, teams don't have to fill the final spot—President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly has chosen to leave it open in the past and sign a player later in the year to a lower, pro-rated salary. This would allow the Wolves to sign a player with more than three years of experience.

In other words, signing Kaufman-Renn to a standard roster spot is more affordable than signing a veteran free agent and would allow for more flexibility if the Wolves choose to fill their 15th roster spot at some point. But the Wolves cannot sign both Kuminga (or Love, Olynyk, or any other veteran with more than three years of NBA service time) and also ink Kaufman-Renn to a standard deal.

Would the Wolves shuffle two-way contracts to keep Kaufman-Renn?

The Wolves do not have a two-way contract slot open. Last year's second-round pick Rocco Zikarsky, third-year forward Enrique Freeman, and Zyon Pullin, the star of Las Vegas Summer League, currently occupy the three spots.

However, the Timberwolves have a track record of shuffling two-way contract spots late in the offseason and even past the start of the regular season. Just last year, the Wolves carried Tristen Newton on a two-way deal all summer and through training camp before releasing him and signing veteran Johnny Juzang in mid-October.

Juzang maxed out his allowed games on the active roster by February and was cut loose, paving the way for Pullin to be elevated from his Exhibit 10 contract in the G League to a two-way deal.

The year prior to that, it was Daishen Nix who was carried on a two-way until January before he was cut loose when the Wolves claimed Newton off waivers from Indiana.

The two-way contract slots are in a constant state of churn, and Connelly is certainly never afraid to upend things if he sees an opportunity. Freeman did not play particularly well in Summer League so it would hardly be a shock if they moved on from him after training camp, it's not a done deal that Kaufman-Renn would back-fill that spot.

Along with Pullin, who is already on a two-way deal, Nate Santos was the other summer standout. He was on an Exhibit 10 contract last year and took part in Timberwolves training camp before spending the season with the G League's Iowa Wolves. Santos is a movement shooter with NBA size and likely enough defensive chops to stick in the league.

Kaufamn-Renn, on the other hand, is more of a jack-of-many-trades, master-of-none who can really only play the power forward position. He doesn't have much of a jump shot and is only an offensive threat in the post and on the short-roll with a nice push-shot/floater combination.

He's not a standout on the offensive glass, and being a bit locked in as a four without the versatility to guard wings on the perimeter or be a true shotblocker, he's at something of a disadvantage when it comes to looking for flexibility with the final roster spots.

Then again, the Wolves are thin in the frontcourt, which should favor Kaufman-Renn over Santos or even Freeman, the latter of whom is a forward that lacks size and the defensive ability in the paint that Kaufman-Renn theoretically brings.

The prediction here is that if the Wolves sign Kuminga, they'll leave the 15th roster spot open and likely move on from Freeman, even if it's after training camp. Then, the vacated two-way contract will be a competition between Santos and Kaufman-Renn.

If they miss out on Kuminga, expect them to sign Kaufman-Renn to a partially guaranteed standard contract, giving them an out early in 2027 if they decide they want to cut bait and bring in a veteran for the stretch run of the season.

It's entirely possible that the Wolves simply don't have a spot for the rookie big man and he ends up being released following camp. At this point, it certainly seems like things could swing either way as Connelly and the front office work concurrent paths with their remaining roster spots.

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