In late January, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said there was “a lot of belief” in the team internally as it approached Thursday’s trade deadline, despite an inconsistent season as one of the most expensive teams in the league.
Timberwolves, hamstrung by second apron, make no moves at NBA trade deadline
The league had a number of high-profile trades in the past week, but none involved the Wolves.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 6, 2025 at 8:19PM
The Wolves front office was also restricted by its status as a second-apron team, meaning it could not combine player salaries in any deals under it took them under that threshold.
Add it all up, and the result was a quiet trade season for the Wolves, who didn’t make any trades as the 2 p.m. deadline passed.
The main question for the Wolves had been whether Julius Randle would be on the team at this point in the season.
Over the last month, Finch has praised the veteran forward’s willingness to shape his game into more of a facilitator for the Wolves. Randle helped the Wolves to the fifth-best offensive efficiency in the league in January and the team was on a five-game win streak before he suffered an adductor strain last week in Utah. The injury will sideline him at least another two weeks.
The Wolves lost their first two games without Randle to Washington and Sacramento before beating the Bulls on Wednesday. They play Houston on Thursday.
Randle has a player option for next season worth around $31 million and the Wolves will have more certainty around his status, in the offseason. They also will know after the season whether a top-13 protected pick they acquired along with Randle and Donte DiVincenzo in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade with the Knicks will convey. Their flexibility to make deals this offseason will be greater than it was this week.
Naz Reid also has a player option for next season for just over $15 million while Nickeil Alexander-Walker will be an unrestricted free agent. The Wolves will likely try to duck under the second apron for next season and escape the restrictions is imposes on teams, including the freezing of draft picks to be traded in the future, dropping picks to the bottom of the first round and eliminating the use of the mid-level exception.
The league had a number of high-profile trades in the past week, but none involved the Wolves.
