Timberwolves' Ideal Power Forward Target Likely Too Expensive

John Collins would be just about the perfect fit for a Timberwolves team that needs a power forward after trading away Julius Randle and Naz Reid. The Wolves reportedly have interest in the nine-year veteran. The issue is that it's extremely difficult to see how they can make it work within their current salary cap situation.

Collins, who turns 29 in September, is a very solid starting four in the modern NBA. Across his career, he's averaged 15.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting 37 percent from three. Over the last two seasons, he's shot just north of 40 percent from deep on 3.4 attempts per game. He can knock down shots and score on the interior, he can rebound, and he's not terrible defensively (although he's not exactly great on that end, either).

After going from the Hawks to the Jazz to the Clippers via trade over the last few years, Collins has completed a five-year, $125 million contract and is now a free agent. The Wolves are one of several teams believed to be interested in signing him, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer. Collins would be an ideal fit in the Wolves' starting lineup, but it's hard to envision the path to fitting him into their financial picture.

"League sources say John Collins certainly has fans in Minnesota, but it appears unlikely that the Timberwolves will have sufficient spending power to pursue the scoring forward, who spent last season with the Clippers," Stein and Fischer wrote.

After trading for LaMelo Ball, the Wolves are projected to be over the first apron and without a ton of room under the second apron, which is a hard cap for them because they aggregated salaries in the multi-team Ball deal. The most they could offer Collins right now is $6.1 million via the taxpayer mid-level exception. Other interested teams — including the Spurs, 76ers, and Magic — can obviously offer more, so Collins would have to choose to take less to play in Minnesota.

The Wolves could also try to create some additional space, perhaps by re-routing Josh Green's $14.7 million expiring deal. But they don't have even second-round picks they can attach to Green's deal in order to move it. And Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic has already reported that the Wolves are not trading injured guard Donte DiVincenzo and his expiring $12.5 million deal.

Unless Tim Connelly somehow gets highly creative, Collins doesn't seem to be a realistic option for Minnesota. The Wolves may need to target lower-level options for frontcourt depth, either via free agency or the trade market.