With extensions reached with Julius Randle and Naz Reid, the Minnesota Timberwolves' free agency will largely be a reshuffling of the bottom of the roster.
Shortly after the Randle extension was announced on June 29, the Wolves made room for some additions by opting out of Luka Garza and Josh Minott's team options in their contracts -- a sum of $4.54 million off the books for the 2025-26 NBA season.
Despite parting ways with the pair of bigs, the Timberwolves have depth at center with new draftees Joan Beringer and Rocco Zikarsky.
A more fitting need currently would be backloading the guard position with a facilitator who could take over for Mike Conley and Rob Dillingham.
Spencer Dinwiddie, Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Dallas Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie (26) looks to moves the ball past Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (9)
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Dunking With Wolves' Eamon Cassels pitched that Dinwiddie could fill the need of a distributor in the offense and would be an affordable addition that would not deter Dillingham's development.
"Playmaking is easily the best part of Dinwiddie's game; he's averaged 5.1 assists for his career, including 4.4 assists this past season. Additionally, he has an impressive 27.3 career assist percentage. Crucially, the 11-year veteran knows how to take care of the ball, averaging just 1.6 turnovers for his career. Having a trusted playmaker next to Anthony Edwards and Co. would be incredibly valuable for the Wolves. Landing a versatile playmaker with great positional size (6-foot-5) would be an ideal move for the Wolves. Dinwiddie's size would allow him to play next to Mike Conley or Rob Dillingham if needed, who are both undersized," Cassels wrote.
At his size and age, Conley became a hindrance defensively. Dillingham is also an undersized guard who, despite having youth and athleticism on his side, needs to find more consistency on both sides of the ball.
Dinwiddie isn't a shot creator but has a high basketball IQ that can be used to exploit the mismatches created with the double teams Edwards faces on the floor. Considering Nickeil Alexander-Walker won't be back unless he takes a team-friendly deal, Dinwiddie could provide a better defensive matchup that Dillingham or Conley.
At 31 years old, Dinwiddie played on a $3.3 million deal with the Detroit Pistons last season and is likely looking for a contender to contribute to after making over $90 million in his career.