Minnesota Timberwolves Shooting Guard Lands on All Contract Team
In salary capped sports it is almost more important to be valuable than good. This offseason the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Karl-Anthony Towns in order to escape roster building restrictions. Tim Connelly has to pull the right strings in order to provide Chris Finch with a full cabinet of talent.
Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle make the big bucks while they are supposed to be the stars carrying a team. The Timberwolves have role players that are capable of elevating beyond their pay to contribute as well.
Timberwolves have a value contributor
Every year fans consider what the top of their roster looks like. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh orchestrated the modern day big three. Those situations are ideal, but it’s the complimentary pieces that help bring home championships.
ESPN Senior Writer Tim Bontempts put together a 15-man all contract team and the Minnesota Timberwolves landed Nickeil Alexander-Walker on it.
“While his cousin in Oklahoma City (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) gets far more attention, Nickeil Alexander-Walker has turned himself into a rotational NBA player over the past couple of seasons in Minnesota, carving out a spot as a true 3-and-D wing player. His free agency this summer will be interesting to watch, as he will be an unrestricted free agent and Minnesota already has an extremely expensive team. With how he’s played the past couple of years, Alexander-Walker seems very likely to get a sizable raise this coming offseason — and with it, a likely change in scenery.”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker lands on the NBA All-Contract team (ESPN)
Part of the idea in trading Towns was an effort to make room for both Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid. The 26-year-old joined the NBA as the 17th overall pick in the 2019 draft. Although his point totals aren’t as high as they were earlier in his career, the impact has been more significant.
Ant's celly after this Nickeil Alexander-Walker three 😅🤣 pic.twitter.com/xjtQmsO3Jl
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 28, 2024
This season with Minnesota, NAW has averaged 8.8 points per game on 47.3% shooting. He has hit a career-best 41.3% of his three-point shots, and is a lockdown defender.
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It certainly would behoove the Timberwolves to find a way for him to stay on the roster next season. Both NAW and Reid will be in line for raises. It remains to be seen if Connelly can get them all done while working through the cap ramifications.
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