2. Contract Expires in 2020-21

There are multiple benefits for the Minnesota Timberwolves if they were to acquire Dennis Schroder before the upcoming trade deadline. Not only would they be receiving a boost in their production from the guard spot to close the season, but they’d also be maintaining financial flexibility.

Using a draft pack centered around Gorgui Dieng and draft compensation would be a mostly lateral cap move. Both Schroder and Dieng have contracts that expire after next season and Schroder actually is set to earn about $1.787M less than Dieng.

Optimizing their salary cap spending by better distributing where their spending is coming from is important for the Timberwolves. They are already set to pay Towns and Andrew Wiggins a combined $58.72M next season. Replacing Dieng with a productive guard would significantly help.

Next season, the Timberwolves could position themselves well in the trade market with Schroder given his deal will be expiring. It could help to facilitate a deal for a player like D’Angelo Russell since teams would be more enticed to land Schroder in a potential three-team deal.