The Wolves Don’t Plan on Signing Another Player; What That Means for Them

Minnesota plans on leaving its 15 roster spot open to being the season—what does this mean, and why is this its decision?

Chris Finch believes his current roster gives him the flexibility to get creative and expand his rotation, which could help patch a potential hole for the Timberwolves entering the season. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Chris Finch believes the Timberwolves roster, as currently constructed, gives him the ability to get creative with his lineup combinations and extend his rotation deeper than he typically has.

With training camp officially starting next week, the Wolves still have one standard roster spot open. Many—myself included—have speculated that Minnesota will look to fill that spot with a veteran and/or a player with size. Kevin Love is a free agent who fits both criteria.

However, Finch pushed back against those speculations Thursday when he joined Chad Hartman on his WCCO radio show.

“I think we are going to hold tight,” Finch told Hartman when asked if the Wolves will sign another player. “That’s what we’ve been talking about. We like the flexibility. Obviously, there is cap sensitivities, too. We just feel like we have enough of what we need right now.”

Why are the Wolves choosing to leave their 15th roster spot open, and what does it mean for them as they enter the season?

Provides flexibility

As Finch mentions above, leaving a roster spot unfilled helps because it gives a team more options for roster moves later in the season.

Let's say the Wolves want to make a mid-season trade where they send out one player and get two in return. If their roster is fully loaded with 15 standard contracts, they would need to make a corresponding move (either by waiving a contract or making another prior trade) to make the one-for-two deal legal.

Doing this isn’t anything new for Tim Connelly. Last season the Wolves entered the year with 14 of 15 standard contracts filled. Doing so eventually allowed them to sign Kyle Anderson off the buyout market on March 2 for a prorated contract that only ran the team $567,470.

Anderson filled a need that showed up mid-season for backup depth at forward and another leader in the locker room. He played in 19 regular season games for the Wolves, averaging 4.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on 47.3% from the floor over 19.1 minutes per game. He stepped into Finch’s rotation as someone the coach could trust to be a dependable ball handler, hold players accountable, and be a backup power forward/center.

Minnesota’s needs for all those skill sets largely appeared during the season as Father Time caught up to Mike Conley, Naz Reid struggled to defend the rim alongside Julius Randle, and the Wolves proved to be a moody team.

Despite how much Finch likes his current roster, the Wolves could end up finding holes they need to fill during the season. Or maybe they discover that the holes they thought would trip them up aren't as big a problem.

Do the Wolves actually need more size?

Since Minnesota’s trade to acquire LaMelo Ball and its signing of Jonathan Kuminga, I have vouched many times that the roster needs more size. It needs a player who could step up to play meaningful minutes—and be productive while doing so—if Rudy Gobert gets injured or Joan Beringer falls into foul trouble.

But Finch seems less concerned about that possibility.

“That’s where our creativity comes in,” Finch told Hartman. “Trey Lyles is a skilled four who can really shoot it. Standing next to him, he is bigger than you think. And he has had a ton of success playing the five.”

Lyles stands 6’10” and still possesses the skill set at age 30 to be a quality NBA player, despite being out of the NBA and playing in Real Madrid last season.

In the event of Gobert or Beringer going down, Lyles is good enough to fill in at backup center, and is likely better than any name currently available on the free agent market, including Love.

Still, Minnesota is lacking overall size in the frontcourt, at least on paper. On Hartman’s radio show, Finch mentioned the possibility of Anthony Edwards sliding over to play power forward, Terrence Shannon Jr. doing the same, or even having Jaden McDaniels playing the five. In certain situations, a small-ball approach would work for a Wolves team that wants to play faster anyway.

Ultimately, we won’t know if Minnesota will actually need more size until the season begins in late October. If three weeks in, the need for additional size behind Gobert, Beringer, and Lyles becomes increasingly problematic, the Wolves could look to snag an unsigned free agent at any point, similar to what they did by bringing in Anderson in March last season.

But for the time being, the Wolves don’t intend to fill their final roster spot in an effort to prioritize roster flexibility over acquiring potentially unnecessary positional insurance.

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