Getty The Minnesota TImberwolves are in need of a point guard.
Ricky Rubio is on the move, and the Timberwolves now only have one point guard on their roster. The Salt Lake Tribune’s Tony Jones reported the Jazz have acquired Rubio in exchange for a protected 2018 first round pick. The trade saves the Timberwolves over $14 million in cap space.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed the Timberwolves agreed to a deal with Jeff Teague. USA Today’s Sam Amick had reported earlier the Timberwolves were the favorites to land Jeff Teague in free agency.
Free agent Jeff Teague has agreed to a 3-year, $57M deal with Minnesota, league sources tell ESPN. t.co/fgvUnhATgH
Teague immediately slides into the starting point guard role for Minnesota. Here’s a look at the current Timberwolves roster. Minnesota’s free agents are listed in italics, with the rookies noted as well.
C- Gorgui Dieng, Cole Aldrich, Jordan Hill, Nikola Pekovic, Justin Patton (R)
PF- Karl-Anthony Towns, Taj Gibson, Omri Casspi (FA), Adreian Payne (FA), Nemanja Bjelica
SF- Jimmy Butler, Shabazz Muhammad (FA)
SG- Andrew Wiggins, Brandon Rush (FA)
PG- Jeff Teague, Tyus Jones
Minnesota entered the off-season with three point guards, but Tyus Jones remained the lone floor general on the roster after two consecutive trades. Even with the Teague signing, fans could see Minnesota add another point guard as well.
Rubio was constantly linked to various teams in trade rumors throughout his six years in Minnesota. Rubio still has two more years left on his current contract. According to Spotrac, he is slated to make $14.1 million next season, and $14.8 million during the 2018-19 season.
With the increased value of shooting in the NBA, Minnesota seemed willing to part with the young point guard despite Rubio having plenty of good basketball left. The addition of Butler created lots of intrigue around the Minnesota team, but the Timberwolves needed to add another guard like Teague.
They have five centers on the roster with the addition of rookie Justin Patton. Fans can expect this will not be the case by the time the season rolls around.
Comments