Will Timberwolves HUNT for Big Man To Finish the Roster? | Winners, Losers of NBA Offseason So Far

Will Timberwolves HUNT for Big Man To Finish the Roster? | Winners, Losers of NBA Offseason So Far

Hello and welcome into another episode of Lockad Wolves. Today on the show, let’s talk about some more big man options the Wolves could be considering in free agency as they fill out the roster. What bigs are on the market the Wolves could consider signing. Plus, we’ll look around the NBA. Some quick winners and losers of the offseason and uh some of the big stories in the league right now. It’s all coming. Welcome in you are Locked Up Wolves. You are Locked On Timberwolves, your daily Minnesota Timberwolves podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Hello and welcome into the Lockdown Wolves podcast. Part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. My name is Ben Beacon. I’m the host of Locked on Wolves. Today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use the code lockdown NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. Happy Thursday everybody. Hope you have had a fantastic week so far. The NBA free agency news has slowed down to a trickle. And uh the Wolves still have a roster spot to fill. Actually two, but most likely one. So I want to talk a little today about bigs that are still in the market. We we alluded or I I talked briefly about a couple at the end of the show yesterday, but I want to talk about a couple more guys that I think could be on the Wolves radar to fill out the roster to fill the Luca Garza role uh if you will. And then also some of the other stuff going on around the league. I’ll give you my winners and losers of the offseason so far. And uh some of the other big stories, the Knicks hiring a coach, all kinds of stuff going on around the league, even if the the major free agency news. Oh, and there’s also the Wolves trade that they made, the signing trade with Dill Alexander Walker. There’s a bit of news there that I want to cover as that continues to evolve, believe it or not, since nothing’s actually official yet uh in the NBA offseason, as wacky as all that is. So, a lot to get to today. A big thank you for making Lockdown Wolves your first listen every single day. Of course, this show is free and available everywhere. That includes YouTube as well as all of your favorite audio platforms. Wherever you like to listen to podcasts, you can find Lockdown Wolves. And then in addition to YouTube, you can also watch Lockdown Wolves on the Lockdown Sports Minnesota app. You can download that on either Roku or Amazon Fire TV. Um, and also just another programming note, still daily. We are daily through the month of July. We’ll get you through free agency. Summer League starts a week from today. Next Thursday the 10th is when Minnesota starts Las Vegas summer league play. So, we should get a roster, I would imagine, maybe over the weekend. So, if that’s the case, we’ll talk about it on Monday’s show. Maybe we get it today. I don’t know. Uh, so if that’s the case, we’ll talk about it Friday. So looking forward to that to see who we’ll get to watch in Vegas. And of course that’ll be a big part of the rest of July and then we’ll kind of preview the rest of the offseason and then in August we’ll move to three shows a week. So we’re still with you plenty throughout we’ll call them the dog days of August. They’re they call them that for baseball. They’re that way for the NBA because it’s by far the slowest month of the NBA calendar. So we’ll uh you know lots to cover still in the month of July. So just a reminder that we are still daily get you through the off seasonason. All right let’s go ahead and talk a little bit about the Timberwolves. um that final roster spot technically too, but again, my prediction is Minnesota’s looking at at filling one of those final spots with a big and and there’s also the possibility of or sorry, let me rephrase that. I think Minnesota will leave a roster spot open just based on Tim Connley’s track record, how Minnesota likes to do things. They’re either going to sign a big or a or somebody who can initiate offense, right? A backup point guard, a playmaking wing. A couple of days ago, I I listed out a bunch of guards that I thought the Wolves could pursue in free agency, guys who I thought could be fits. And then yesterday, we talked about a couple of bigs toward the end of the show. Once it became clear that uh Luca Garza was going to sign with the Boston Celtics, which I didn’t know on Monday’s show, I knew it in time for Tuesday’s show or sorry, I guess I I realized at the end of Tuesday’s show, so Wednesday, we talked about some potential bigs to replace Luca. And I want to kind of finish that thought today. Updating the list of guards that were available that have signed elsewhere. The guys I talked about earlier in the week on this show, many of them have signed elsewhere. Not everybody. Um, since yesterday’s show, I believe Spencer Dwitty is the only guy that signed. Um, so of the guys we talked about like Gary Trent Jr., Luke Canard, Spencer Denwitty, I thought all were going to probably want more than the minimum and they’ve all signed. Obviously, Canard got a lot more. I think Denwitty just got the minimum as did Trent, but his was a multi-year deal. They’re all gone. Bruce Brown signed with the Nuggets. Uh Torian Prince signed back with the Milwaukee Bucks. Gary Harris was was uh I think signed and traded. And that leaves of the guys I talked about, my favorite possible Wolves edition is still in the market. That’s Malcolm Brogden. I think he’s the best fit for Minnesota. There’s some high upside there. Anthony Melton’s still out there. He’s not going to be ready to play right away. And he’s not a point guard and not a big, but I think uh adding another defensive wing to the to the group would be a good thing after losing to Kell Alexander Walker. So, I like the possibility of Dean Anthony Melton. Tory Craig is a possibility. I’m less enthused there, but he is certainly a favorite of Tim Connelly than Don Wright was on my list as like a last ditch kind of hey, we need another guard type of guy. So, all those guys we talked about the other day, um, Canard, Trent, Denwitty, Bruce Brown, Torren Prince, Gary Harris, all gone, all all no longer available. As far as bigs go on Wednesday’s show, we talked about uh a few guys that I would I would want the Wolves to take a look at in free agency. I would expect the Wolves to have some interest in. Um, and and the point I made at the end of the show, if you missed it on Wednesday, was basically the Wolves have a weird needle to thread, right? Because Luca Garza had a unique role in that he knew he wasn’t ever going to be in the everyday rotation until he was and then when he was he was counted on right when there were multiple if two of Randall Nas Rudy are missing a game Luca Gars has got to play 15 minutes or whatever. Um, so it’s it’s a it’s a we don’t ever need you until we do and then we really do type of a role which like you can’t necessarily sign Marke Morris or you know pick another human victory cigar of a guy that’s like over the hill like Taj Gibson right you’re not going to sign Taj Gibson for that role because PJ Tucker because you actually need this guy to play minutes you already have a roster spot with a guy who’s not going to in Joe Engles this and sorry when I say you need this guy to play minutes what I mean by that is he can go out there and give you a shot at winning a game that you otherwise have no shot of winning. And and those guys that like Luca Garza could do that because there was offensive upside. Like DeAndre Jordan also not going to do that for you. Um and then on the flip side, there’s these guys out there that are probably going to get more than the minimum and are going to have value or be able to go somewhere else. Like um I’m not saying Jackson Hayes is going to win a game for you, but like Jackson Hayes is young enough he’s going to get a bigger opportunity somewhere else most likely. Um go on down the list of some of the other bigs. Uh, and and you know, I think that’s kind of that’s kind of true. Like, um, I just look at a list of the free agent bigs to see if anybody else pops out as as that category. Thomas Bryant was the example I used on yesterday’s show. I think he’s the best example of that. But as far as some other bigs that maybe could ask for more or get more that I think could play a legit role for Minnesota, um, Precious Sichua is one of them. Uh Precious Sichua has been a rotation guy throughout his NBA career, which is still a relatively short career to this point. He his rookie season was 2021 in Miami. He then spent two seasons in Toronto and then well two and a half in Toronto, one and a half in New York. So this is going to be year uh six for him. Did I do that math right? One, two, three, four, five. This will be year Yeah, year six for him. and he’s been a rotation guy throughout his career already and and um started uh I don’t know about a quarter of the games a couple times last year was 20 and a half 20.5 minutes per game in New York. Obviously like I gave the Garza example of a guy with offensive upside that could win a game for you if you needed him to. Like that’s not a Chua. A Chua is more of a like a true backup big. So again, I think he he’s another guy that’s probably going to have other options, but he’s one of the better kind of versatile defensive bigs that’s switchable on the perimeter, good, you know, decent enough shot blocker, good enough rebounder. I I think he deserves a bigger role than what Minnesota could offer him, but I I like Precious Sichua a great deal, and I think he’s a name that um if it comes down to it, would be potentially a possibility. And uh I’ve got a couple more that I want to get to. Um, but but again, like I think Aua and Thomas are both going to have or excuse me, Thomas Bryant are going to have other options and and I want to be clear. I’m not saying that like there’s a real chance they get him. Like they weren’t probably going to get Luke Canard or Spencer Denwy. I’m trying to find guys that there’s a somewhat realistic possibility if if things fall a certain way, but also with the context of like Precious Sichu is only going to be 26 this year and somebody is going to be able to say, “Hey, we can give you 15 minutes a game.” Minnesota doesn’t have those minutes. They have zero minutes a game except for garbage time and when somebody’s out and then and then you’re going to play heavy minutes because there’s no other options because remember the only bigs on Minnesota’s roster are Nas Reed, Rudy Gobear and um and uh oh my goodness, my mind just went blank. Nas Reed, Rudy Goar, and Julius Rael. Those are the only bigs on this roster that are not 18. Jawan Baron and um and uh Rockco Zakarsski is on a two-way deal. Our our 18 Jesse Edwards is on a two-way deal. He’s like 25, but like he’s not getting a rotation. So, that’s it. You need to find more bigs. Outside of a two, I got one more guy I want to talk about today and then I’ll I’ll hit a couple other names real quick. We’ll move on to talking about some bigger picture NBA stuff in context of the Wolves like the Western Conference. Who got better? Who got worse to this point? You know, middle of the first week of NBA free agency. Obviously, a lot of offseason to go, but at this point, who’s gotten better? Who’s gotten worse in the West? We’ll do all that here next. Today’s episode of Lockdown Wolves is brought to us by our title sponsors at Monarch Money. Ever wish managing your money felt easier? With Monarch Money, it can’t. Whether you’re growing your savings or planning a big purchase, Monarch puts you in the driver’s seat. 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Use code lockdown at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That’s monarchmoney.com code lockdown NBA for half off your first year. All right. So, outside of Precious Chua, Thomas Bryant, another name that I think is intriguing and um this is, you know, even a little bit more intriguing from an offensive standpoint, somebody who might not upside at this stage in his career, but could could provide a little bit of value off the bench offensively is uh Chris Buchchet. Chris Buchche spent the last seven years in Toronto uh and and seven of his eight years in the NBA in Toronto. Actually, weirdly, every game but one. He played one game his rookie year in Golden State and then he spent seven years in Toronto. Chris Buchet quietly has started to add a little bit of a a reasonable three-point shot to his game. He actually averaged 10 points per game last year in a backup role for the Raptors and shot 36% from three on four attempts per game. He had never shot, actually he did have one random season. and he shot 38% from three, but he’s kind of waffled in that like a little bit below league average spot for most of his career from three-point range. So, no, he’s not like a true stretch big. He’s not somebody you’re going to trust to to shoot a lot from the perimeter. And he’s also not a center like a Chua is actually a little bit more of a a four anyway, but can play the five. Buché is not really a five. He’s more of a four. Little bit switchable defensively on the perimeter. Um, a little bit of a better shot blocker than I I think people would expect. I actually think he could be effective defensively and and and also offensively. So, I’d give him a little bit of an edge over Achua. He may not be as good overall as a defender and rebounder as a Chua, but the offensive upside is greater. And I like the idea of Chris Bucher as a like and he’s also going to be 33. So, like I don’t think Chris Buché is out here looking for a legit long-term deal. I know he made like almost 11 million last year. His last contract with Toronto was a decent contract. I could be wrong. he could get like at this point not a lot of guys are getting much more than the minimum anyway. So, he’s somebody who’s been on a few bad teams. Obviously, he won a title in Toronto several years ago, but like he’s been on some bad teams since then and and perhaps there’s a um you know uh there’s a desire there for him to to uh to get out and be on a winning team again. Um and maybe he accepts a little bit of a lesser role. And here’s the thing, somebody, god forbid, gets a longer term injury. Nas, Julius, Rudy, and Chris Bish would find himself as a regular rotation guy again. Um, he’d be he’d be one injury away from that. And honestly, like the game is more well-rounded than Luca Garza. Uh, he’s obviously a better defender. He’s not as skilled offensively as Garza, but he’s not a significantly worse three-point shooter. And, um, I think that rebounding wise, like, they’re in the same category, especially on the offensive glass. Like, I think Buché would provide something. Um, and he’s not super high in a lot of those free agent lists. If you go out there and look at um, like I think ESPN did their like updated top 10, I think it was Kevin Pelton did it and like he’s not he’s not on that list. Like teams aren’t aren’t really focusing on Chris Buché, I don’t think, or at least I I should say the the articles that that are ranking these guys aren’t focusing on him. Um, and I think I think you never know like the Wolves could have a shot at him if if he’s looking to to be part of a winning team again and have potentially defined role. another guy that would fall into a similar category in terms of probably outside the Wolves bare minimum price range and probably can find a a better deal elsewhere or at least more playing time elsewhere would be uh Mo Vagner. Mo Vagner is still only 28 years old and obviously had had injury issues last year, but he’s never played more than like 19 minutes a game in a season. Um and last year in just 30 games, he averaged 13 points a game. similar three-point shot to Bouche in terms of a little below league average. Volume’s always been a little bit lower for Vagner. More offensively talented. You know, at least I’m not saying he’s similar to Luca Garzo, but like he’s his game tilts offensively. Not quite as good of a rebounder or shot blocker as Buché, but he’s actually not a bad defender at all overall. Um, and so Vagner is another guy. I see both Vagner and Buché and probably a Chua all getting more than the vet minimum. But if the Wolves somehow pulled off signing any of those guys, I think it would be a um coup is a strong word when you’re talking about like a guy who’s not in a regular rotation. But that would be a really nice depth piece for Minnesota and and who knows where that sits right now as they try and perhaps persuade some of these guys to come to Minnesota on event minimum. So looking down that list of centers, I mean Vagner would be the other one. Um like we’ve already talked like DeAndre Jordan, no thanks. Um, uh, Bismak Biombo would would fall into a similar category. No offensive upside there, but he’s a guy who knows how to play, you know, depth. Like he remember OKC had him at the end of not this season, but last season as a deep bench guy to try and give them some size as they tried to navigate the playoffs. Like you don’t mind having a guy like that off your bench. Um, Thomas Bryant, I think, is going to be able to to find a different a more tenable for him situation than Minnesota. Chua, we talked about Buché. We just talked about old friend James Johnson. I don’t know in what world he doesn’t end up back with the Pacers in some way unless I’ve missed something and like that’s not going to happen, but uh be nice to have him as your last guy just in case you get into a fight. Everybody like like fine. Okay. Marke Morris, I’ve talked about him not being a real option. PJ Tucker, same thing. So like that’s kind of that’s kind of the list. And it’s possible they only sign a point guard and then don’t don’t you know dip their toe in the uh the big man waters here at the end of the bench. It’s also possible they fill both spots and and end up with a playmaking wing or a guard and then also a center. Um so very intrigued to see how this plays out. Uh that’s all I want to do today on the bigs. Who knows? I would imagine the next couple of days we see a bit more movement there. But I want to move on and talk a little bit more bigger picture about the NBA. hit a couple of stories here and then talk quickly about some of my winners and losers. Uh, one quick Timberwolves note that is pretty interesting. Right before I started to record the show for Thursday, there was some news that broke. I think initially reported by um ESPN’s Bobby Marks and then also I think uh Fred Katz was reporting this as well that the Kevin Durant trade could potentially end up being a 17 team deal uh by the time the the moratorium is lifted on Sunday which is what the 6th um and deals actually become official. The reason why this would happen is it kind of greases the wheels for some of these deals to just get done. Um, so like the signed trade that the Rockets made for Clint Capella, the Nico Alexander Walker piece from Minnesota to Atlanta could all get looped in. There might not be anything that actually changes other than maybe some picks changing or some cash going from one team to another. It’s just it’s just incentives for like there are some minor incentives for these teams to kind of like a why not like if this benefits us in any way, let’s just do it this way. Um, so we’ll see. Keep an eye on it. If if that ends up happening, we we won’t know till Sunday, probably. So, it’d be Monday’s lockdown Wolves episode. But if anything changes, we’ll talk about it on this show. But at this point, it’s a 2027 uh Cleveland Cavaliers second round pick that Minnesota got from Atlanta uh in the Nik Alexander Walker deal. And if anything with that changes, we’ll discuss it. But I think that’s notable. It’s interesting. It may end up not meaning anything when it comes to the Wolves, but something to keep an eye on for sure. Uh, all right. Let’s talk about a couple of other NBA stories and some of the things that I have seen or or that I would pull out of what’s happened so far across the NBA, winners and losers, which admittedly it’s early in the offseason to truly find winners and losers, but my take on it and uh and where things stand as of right now. So, we’ll do all that here next to close out the show. All right, other NBA stories. The New York Knicks are going to reportedly hire Mike Brown as their head coach. I really like Mike Brown and well, really is a strong word. I like Mike Brown. Um, I thought he got a a really kind of bum deal in Sacramento. I don’t think it was fair that he got fired when he did. Um, I thought that uh it was kind of bush league the way that was handled and that’s just kind of the way Sacramento’s done a lot of things the last I don’t know what decade, decade and a half. Um, but Mike Brown’s a good enough coach. I don’t know that he’s necessarily a significant upgrade over Tom Thibido. He’s probably the best candidate that they interviewed. Remember the Knicks asked five different NBA teams if they could interview their existing head coach for their position. Um, the arrogance is is uh is very so-like. So Nicks like of course Chris Finch was one of those. Jason Kidd we know was another. Uh and every team that they asked said no. They interviewed uh Tibble’s assistant Micah Nory. They interviewed uh James Bgo of course the former Charlotte coach is currently an assistant in New Orleans, former Spurs assistant as well from before he was a Hornets coach. Um, they interviewed uh Don Staley, the college coach, and I’m blinking on who else they interviewed. Uh, Taylor Jenkins, former Memphis coach, who also was weirdly fired. But then there was some report, a New York Post report that Jenkins seemed less enthused about the job, I think was the way it was termed, which is a very odd thing. Uh, so all that to say, like I think they land in an okay spot. I just don’t know that Mike Brown’s better than Tibs. Like it’s maybe a lateral move at best. I don’t know. Um, and and it’s the whole Tibs thing. Tibs can grate on guys after a while. So, so maybe that’s that’s a piece of it, too. I don’t know. Um, but all that to say, ultimately, the uh the Knicks ended up hiring somebody. They hired Mike Brown. So, there’s there’s that. That’s a significant offseason story. We know Mike Nori is not leaving, at least not for that job, and at this point, probably not leaving at all. Um, the Damen Lillard thing and the Miles Turner trade to Milwaukee, like that hurts the Pacers. that it ultimately is a good thing for Milwaukee. It’s good for Dame Lillard. Uh it’s not worth getting too deep into Dame to Minnesota talk at this point. I did see that uh somebody on ESPN Bobby Marks or was it Mark Spear? I think it was Mark Spears was talking about Minnesota being the best landing spot for Damen Lillard ultimately. Like remember Achilles injury in April. like this dude at his age, he shouldn’t be playing until at least at least March next year. So, I I don’t know. Um I I’d be a little surprised. There were a lot of reports about Dame not wanting to be in Milwaukee. A lot of stuff that’s come out now after the fact. like if he really wants to be in Miami or somewhere that’s different than the upper Midwest, like uh more more uh appealing from a a a culture, nightlife, weather standpoint. I mean, I guess in the spring next year, it’d be spring at least in Minnesota. I don’t know. I I’ I’d be a little surprised if Dame ends up in Minnesota, but who knows? I could be wrong. and and and you know coming off an Achilles what the defense wasn’t good anyway especially at this age and then with the injury so like you’re signing him just for some clutch playoff shots. It’s something we could definitely spend more time on later and uh we’ll definitely discuss that with some guests on the show later this offseason but something to keep an eye on. I just I don’t think there’s any movement soon. Um oh and then the Jiren Jackson Jr. thing. Jiren Jackson Jr. getting a turf toe injury playing in a live uh pickup run off site away from the Grizzlies facility like right after he signs the big extension. He already had surgery and they’re saying not reevaluated for 12 weeks which is like right before training camp. So a terrible break once again for Jiren Jackson Jr. and for the Memphis Grizzlies who just cannot get out of their own way or at least their players can’t get out of their own way and uh a bad thing to happen to a a Western Conference um I guess foe of Minnesota, which actually that’s not a bad segue into some of the winners and losers of the offseason so far. Speaking of uh losers, and I’m not calling Memphis a loser of the offseason. It’s not like it’s they’re it’s not their they’re doing where where uh Jackson gets hurt. Sacramento Kings just acquired Dennis Shruder in a signing trade and gave him like three years 40 plus million which seems nuts so to me like Dennis Shruder was a one-year prove it guy I think the last couple of years Dennis Shruder’s fine but to guarantee him that much money it seems pretty crazy to me and and Sacramento hasn’t exactly um we’ll say they haven’t exactly crushed it so far this offseason I I I don’t agree with a lot of what they’ve done um the let’s see what was the other silly trade they drafted Maxim Reo. Um, they Oh, they’re going to sign Drew Eubanks apparently after he clears waiverss. Fine, whatever. I remember the Timberwolves just killed Drew Eubanks in the playoffs when he was with Phoenix a couple years ago. The uh Valenunis trade, like I don’t know. I mean, trading Valenunis to get Dario Sharic, like that seemed uh that’s not a good move. like Sacramento just always is doing Sacramento stuff and um they may still trade Malik Monk who’s better than like the guys we just talked about. I I just don’t ever know what Sacramento is doing and we already talked about the Mike Brown thing. Like that is just not a a solid move for the Sac or solid offseason to this point for the Sacramento Kings and uh to me they’ve been one of the clear losers of the offseason. In the wake of the draft, another clear loser was the New Orleans Pelicans. um them trading an unprotected pick next year to move up what six spots was uh exceedingly silly and that’s that’s what they did. They haven’t done anything of course in uh in free agency other than sign Kavan Looney to a two-year $60 million deal for some reason. Like he’s fine but but why like why are they doing that? Why are they using uh part of their mid-level exception and hardcapping themselves at the first tax apron? like that just it just seems so silly um to to do that. So that’s kind of that’s kind of what the Pelicans have done is is is sign Kavan Looney and give up an unprotected pick for uh to move up six spots and draft a guy that they didn’t probably need to move up certainly not that much at that cost for. So, the Pelicans are definitely a loser and and by the way, I’m listing two Western Conference teams as losers and I like that’s the Western Conference is going to be so rough and tumble once again. I mean, like you look at the West and sitting here right now, how many teams are actually just going to be bad? I mean, the Pelicans will be, but they shouldn’t be. I mean, like I guess Phoenix, uh, probably. I mean, they still have Deon Booker, but I guess Phoenix and then obviously uh Utah still, but like Portland’s going to be better. We saw them come on at the end of the year. Sacramento can’t get out of their own way, so that’s a positive thing for the Wolves. Uh, but then we look at some of the winners of the offseason to this point, and I would put the Houston Rockets obviously there with Kevin Durant, some of the other moves they made, the Dorian Finny Smith signing. Um, I love the Clint Capella thing less, but the depth on that team is going to be really impressive. You go on down the line and the Rockets had a very good offseason. There’s no way to argue that. And then the Denver Nuggets actually have like a real rotation now. They’ve got like seven vets now in their rotation and and only the fringes of the rotation are going to be like really painfully young guys, which is the same for the Wolves, right? Minnesota’s got like a top eight or I guess a top seven and then your eight, nine, 10 guys are all secondish year guys. Denver last year, the whole bench was young guys. And now they brought back Bruce Brown. They’ve uh signed Tim Hardaway. And that’s not even like that’s more of a depth move. I’m blanking on the other move they made, but like what Denver’s done to this point has been really, really smart. Um, and they’ve really done a good job of showing up their bench. And then Atlanta, the Nikil Alexander Walker move is good. The Luke Canard signing is good. Um, they seem to be actually making a real run at it to to try and try again to surround Trey Young with talent that can get them in a a really wide open Western Conference or Eastern Conference, excuse me. And Orlando’s done some interesting stuff, too. I don’t know that I’d call them a winner, but I think they put themselves in a decent spot to be competitive. They were competitive last year, but to be competitive even for a top four, five seed in the Eastern Conference. So, I guess I’d put Orlando in there with Atlanta, Houston, and the Nuggets. And then losers right now is the Pelicans and Kings. Um, and there’s others. Those teams jumped off the page for me. Okay. Um, we’ll be back tomorrow, Friday show for you. We’ll talk a little bit uh probably additional free agency developments and we’ll get you ready for summer league here over the next few days as well. Again, we’re daily throughout the month of July. A big thank you for making Lockdown Wolves your first listen every day. Of course, this show is free and available everywhere. That includes YouTube as well as all of your favorite audio platforms wherever you like to listen to podcasts. You can find Lockdown Wolves. You can also watch on the Lockdown Sports Minnesota app on both Roku and Amazon Fire TV. A big thank you for making us your first listen. A reminder that for your second listen, you can find the Lockdown NBA podcast where there is no offseason. Doug, Matt, and Hayes keep you up to date on contract negotiations, rumors, and everything you need to be the most informed NBA fan. Find Lockdown NBA on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Of course, so is Lockdown Wolves. Lockdown Wolves is part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your local experts on all the biggest stories. Once again, I’m Ben Beacon. This is the Lockdown Wolves podcast. We’ll catch you next time.

If the Minnesota Timberwolves want to fill the roster spot vacated by Luka Garza with another big, what options are available for Tim Connelly in NBA Free Agency? Also, Ben Beecken (@bbeecken) takes a spin through news from around the league including winners and losers of the NBA offseason so far.

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FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)