Timberwolves To Trade Josh Green To Jazz

Minnesota is also trading cash to the Jazz as part of the deal, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Charania, the Wolves plan to hang onto Williams but will waive Konchar, using the stretch provision to spread his $6.17MM cap hit across three seasons, resulting in annual cap charges of roughly $2.06MM.

The goal for Minnesota is to generate enough room below the team’s second-apron hard cap in order to officially sign Jonathan Kuminga using the taxpayer mid-level exception. The Wolves had been about $4MM away from that hard cap and Kuminga’s first-year salary will be north of $6MM.

By swapping out Green’s expiring $14.68MM contract for Williams ($6.02MM) and incurring a $2.06MM cap charge for Konchar, Minnesota will generate approximately $6.6MM in cap savings, moving the team $10.6MM below the second apron.

After officially completing the trade, waiving-and-stretching Konchar’s deal, and signing Kuminga, the Wolves will have 14 players under contract and will still have $4.5MM in breathing room under their hard cap, giving them more than enough space to add a 15th man on a minimum-salary contract.

Minnesota will also have the opportunity to take a flier on Williams, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft, who has struggled to establish himself as a reliable role player during his first two years in the NBA. The 6’8″ wing out of Colorado averaged 8.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 24.3 minutes per game across 67 outings (41 starts) last season. While he improved his shooting percentage to 46.8% from the floor during his second season, he converted just 28-of-131 three-pointers (21.4%).

The Wolves will have until October 31 to decide whether or not to exercise Williams’ fourth-year rookie scale team option worth $7.67MM. Unless he takes a significant step forward during the preseason and early part of the ’26/27 season, that option seems unlikely to be picked up by a Minnesota team that will be prioritizing cap flexibility around the edges of its roster going forward.

Krawczynski notes (via Twitter) that he expects the Timberwolves to use the open spot on their standard roster to add a veteran player who can be a positive locker room presence and provide insurance off the bench if needed.

As for the Jazz, they’ll swap out two players who weren’t expected to play significant roles this season for Green, who has shown the ability across six seasons in Dallas and Charlotte to be a solid perimeter defender who can knock down a three-pointer (.387 career 3PT%). He played a reduced role last season in Charlotte after returning from shoulder surgery, averaging 4.3 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 15.7 MPG with a .459/.420/.893 shooting line in 58 appearances off the bench.

Upgrading a defense that has ranked 29th or 30th in the NBA in each of the past three seasons has been a priority this summer for the Jazz, who also signed versatile wing Josh Okogie to a two-year, $12MM contract in July.

As we observed earlier this week when we evaluated their offseason moves so far, the Jazz had been operating more than $22MM under the luxury tax line, so taking on a little extra salary in the two-for-one swap won’t be an issue for the team. The trade will leave Utah with 14 players on standard contracts, giving the club the option of adding another veteran via trade or free agency, allowing camp invitees to compete for that 15th spot, or leaving it open in order to provide additional in-season flexibility.