The Timberwolves have emerged as a real suitor for a veteran shooter as they scramble to replace the power forwards they traded away this summer.
The Timberwolves spent the early days of this offseason blowing up their frontcourt, and now the search for a replacement has led them somewhere nobody expected.
Julius Randle and Naz Reid are both gone, shipped out within a week of each other so the front office could land LaMelo Ball and pair him with Anthony Edwards in the backcourt.
That left a hole at power forward that Minnesota still hasn't filled, and according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Wolves have now entered the market for a name most fans weren't picturing this summer.
A Crowded Market for Hachimura
Hachimura spent four seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, and his name has floated around Brooklyn and San Antonio for weeks as one of the more attractive forwards still on the free agent board.
Stein reported that his camp has now opened talks with Minnesota and Golden State too, and out of that expanded group, the Timberwolves are said to view him as their top choice at the position.
Minnesota gave up both of its power forwards in the same week to land Ball, and Chris Finch still doesn't have anyone on the roster who can shoot and defend that spot.
Hachimura is coming off a strong finish to his Lakers tenure, averaging 11.5 points and 3.3 rebounds on 44.3 percent shooting from three, then raising that mark to 56.9 percent across ten playoff games as Los Angeles went 53-29 before getting swept by Oklahoma City in the second round.
What Minnesota Can Offer
Money is the tricky part, since the Timberwolves already sit well over the salary cap after their trades for Ball and Ayo Dosunmu, though they are still roughly seventeen million dollars below the first tax apron, which lines up almost exactly with the full mid-level exception.
That exception starts at just over fifteen million dollars a year and can run as long as four seasons, meaning a realistic Minnesota offer would begin somewhere in that range and could approach sixty five million dollars by the finish if it goes the full length.
Teams with actual room under the cap, like the Nets, could still pay him more annually, so price may end up deciding where he lands.
How He Would Fit
The fit on the floor looks clean, since Hachimura made his living in Los Angeles as a low usage floor spacer next to a ball dominant star, first LeBron James and then Luka Doncic, and that same role would carry over behind an offense that ran through Anthony Edwards averaging 28.8 points a game this past season.
Minnesota went 49-33 before a six game exit against San Antonio in the conference semifinals, and the Wolves have pointed to shooting next to their projected starting five as the priority this summer.
Pairing Hachimura with Rudy Gobert would give Minnesota shooting and length up front, and while he has never been a standout defender, his 230 pound frame at least allows him to hold his own against bigger forwards.
