Free Agency Grades: Minnesota Timberwolves

The next Free Agency transcript will be about the Minnesota Timberwolves, who did most of their work around the 2020 NBA Draft. They brought back Ricky Rubio in a sneaky-good trade, and used spare parts to nab Ed Davis.

As for free agency, the Wolves focused on their incumbent players. Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez, their trade deadline acquisitions from the Denver Nuggets in February, were the focus of their spending this offseason.

Malik Beasley (restricted) signs a four-year, $59.7 million deal to return to Minnesota.

Fit: B+

Few teams need wings more than Minnesota, and it spent big to retain its best one. Beasley was a revelation after the trade from Denver, hitting 42.6% of his 115 3-point attempts (8.2 attempts per game). He's a solid scorer and shooter, which the Wolves need, but his off-court issues regarding threats of violence make this situation bleaker.

Price: B-

According to The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski, Beasley was going to get a sizable deal from the New York Knicks if they struck out on Gordon Hayward. That happened, forcing Minnesota's hand in paying a pretty penny to keep him. The price is still staggering for someone of Beasley's caliber; he barely cracked Denver's rotation, got hot for 14 games in Minnesota, and suddenly was worth an average annual value of $14.9 million? The Wolves almost had to keep Beasley at this price, but it's not a good one.

Overall: B

Beasley is a good match for Minnesota on the court, and the figure to keep him wasn't crippling. With Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell heading into their sixth seasons in the league, the time to win is now. Beasley makes the Wolves better in their pursuit of a playoff berth.

Juancho Hernangomez (restricted) signs a two-year, $13.5 million deal ($7.5 million team option in the third year) to return to Minnesota.

Fit: B

Minnesota made it an emphasis to add shooters when necessary, and Hernangomez was another piece of that puzzle. On a small sample of 69 3PA, Juancho hit 29 (42.0%) over 14 games in Minnesota. His overall body of work suggests he's not really a plus shooter (35.9% on 3s, 72.2% on free throws), and his defense is questionable, but the Wolves are betting that a bigger role gets him more rhythm and comfort to fire away efficiently.

Price: B-

Juancho's deal is quite large for a stretch 4 who hasn't been that good at the "stretch" part and doesn't do much else. It's hard to believe another team was bidding hard for him, and though the AAV isn't egregious, it's more than it should have been. The team option for $7.5 million in year three is fine.

Overall: B-

Hernangomez could absolutely outperform this contract. He is at least a rotation player if his shooting remains palatable, and becomes more effective with higher efficiency. But if the shooting goes cold, he doesn't add much else to the Wolves.