Coming off back-to-back conference finals runs, the Minnesota Timberwolves had three key free agents: Julius Randle, Naz Reid, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. It was going to be impossible to re-sign all three players without dipping into the dreaded second tax apron or making another move.
As we all know, the Wolves chose to re-sign Randle and Reid, while Alexander-Walker signed with the Atlanta Hawks. The idea sounded pretty logical in theory: Terrence Shannon Jr., Jaylen Clark, and Rob Dillingham could collectively fill the void left behind by NAW.
However, it couldn't have worked out worse for the Wolves.