Timberwolves Cap Space Update After Declining Julian Phillips' Option

The Timberwolves are declining a $2.4 million team option on wing Julian Phillips for the upcoming season, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. That means the 2023 second-round pick will become an unrestricted free agent ahead of what would be his fourth NBA season.

The Timberwolves are declining the team option on Julian Phillips, a source told @TheAthletic.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) June 29, 2026

Phillips, 22, came to the Wolves in the February trade with the Bulls that also brought Ayo Dosunmu to Minnesota and sent Rob Dillingham and Leonard Miller to Chicago, along with several second-round picks. A 6'6" wing, Phillips played in 13 regular season games and five postseason contests as a reserve for the Timberwolves. He scored 16 points in the final game of the regular season.

After one season at Tennessee, Phillips was selected 35th overall by the Celtics in 2023 and traded to the Wizards and then the Bulls within that same week. He spent some time in the Bulls' rotation over the last couple seasons but didn't carve out consistent minutes.

Timberwolves roster and cap space update

Pending the massive multi-team trade involving LaMelo Ball, Julius Randle, Naz Reid, and several other players — as well as new contracts for Dosunmu and Jaylen Clark — this is what Minnesota's roster currently looks like for the 2026-27 season (shoutout to Tim Garrison of The Daily Wolves).

Anthony Edwards: $48.9 million
LaMelo Ball: $41.3 million
Rudy Gobert: $36.5 million
Jaden McDaniels: $26.2 million
Ayo Dosunmu: $19.3 million (estimated)
Josh Green: $14.7 million
Donte DiVincenzo: $12.5 million
Joan Beringer: $4.4 million
Jaylen Clark: $3.1 million (estimated)
Terrence Shannon Jr: $2.8 million
Isaiah Evans: $1.4 million

Rocco Zikarsky, Enrique Freeman, and second-round pick Trey Kaufmann-Renn are expected to be on two-way contracts.

That leaves the Timberwolves with somewhere around $9 million under the second apron (which they are hard-capped at) and a minimum of three more standard roster spots to fill (14 is the required number). If they ultimately move Green's expiring contract, they could create additional space. The Wolves have the $6.1 million taxpayer mid-level exception they can offer to a free agent, but they may need to move Green in order to actually use all of it.

Free agents from last year's roster that the Wolves could look to re-sign on cheap contracts include Kyle Anderson, Bones Hyland, and Mike Conley.

Of course, after trading Randle and Reid, the Wolves need a power forward who can either start or play a significant role off the bench. They don't have a lot of money to spend at the moment, but as Krawczynski noted, they can offer legitimate playing time on a perennial playoff team.

Wolves have very little to spend on a PF. What they do have to offer is opportunity. That should be enticing for a player who needs to bet on himself for a year.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) June 29, 2026

One intriguing option could be Kenrich Williams, who had his team option declined by the Thunder on Monday. He's a 6'7" wing who shot just under 39 percent from three across six seasons with Oklahoma City.

Minnesota should be on line one https://t.co/PF4Lkjdaw5
— Nekias (Nuh-KAI-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) June 29, 2026

Add us as a preferred source on Google