Takeaways: What did the Timberwolves gain as the NBA trade deadline passes?

TORONTO – The Timberwolves didn’t catch the big fish they were seeking this trade deadline in Giannis Antetokounmpo, but neither did anybody else.

The sweepstakes for Antetokounmpo will now take place in June around the draft and free agency. Meanwhile, the Wolves ended up making two trades that affected their bench: Dealing Mike Conley to free up money in a three-team deal, then using that salary-cap space to bring in Ayo Dosunmu (along with Julian Phillips) in a trade that sent Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round picks to Chicago.

After the dust cleared, the Wolves saved about $20 million in luxury tax payments with the moves.

Here are some thoughts and observations from the deadline.

Despite the reports of the Wolves being aggressive in trying to find multiple teams to complete an Antetokounmpo deal, I kept coming back to something a source told me at the outset of the deadline: deals for a player of Antetokounmpo’s stature and salary are tricky to pull off midseason.

That proved to be prophetic. Teams just have more resources available to them in the summer, such as access to more draft picks (including current year draft picks that they can’t trade because of the Stepien Rule, a situation the Wolves are in this year), roster space and salary-cap space. All those things can make the pool of teams that can facilitate a deal as a third or fourth team larger than being hamstrung during the season. Despite the noise, this was a big part of why Antetokounmpo is still on the Bucks.

They likely will, because any time an elite player is on the trading block, the Wolves are interested. The dynamics will be different in the summer. More teams than the four who were interested in Antetokounmpo this time around (Warriors, Knicks, Heat and Wolves) will be in play, but Antetokounmpo will also have more leverage. He will have one year left on his deal before he can decide to decline a player option for 2027-28 and enter free agency.

It became clearer as the season got into December that Dillingham and the Wolves were not the right fit of player and situation. A point guard like Dillingham needs reps to develop, and he wasn’t getting reps in Minnesota. Without those reps he couldn’t learn from the kind of mistakes that cost him rotation minutes under coach Chris Finch. It was a loop that wasn’t good for Dillingham’s progression. He was more of a project than the Wolves thought, and they don’t have the kind of timeline right now to develop projects.

The regretful part for the Wolves was they gave up so much to get him — a 2031 unprotected pick and a 2030 pick swap, ammo that could come in handy for a potential Antetokounmpo trade. The Wolves, at least, didn’t keep investing in a sunk cost and moved on from Dillingham now while they could get value in return in Dosunmu.

It would appear so. By acquiring him now, the Wolves have his Bird Rights as he enters free agency this offseason. This means they will have more flexibility above the luxury tax to re-sign him. With the projected space they will have under the various aprons (the Wolves primarily want to stay out of the second apron), they should have room to re-sign Dosunmu, who is making $7.5 million this season.

He figures to get a raise on that, given he is having the best offensive season of his career, but the Wolves hold the best cards in re-signing him now. If teams think Dosunmu is worthy of the full mid-level exception for instance, the Wolves could now exceed that to bring him back.

It’s definitely a possibility now that the smoke is clearing on the deadline and the Wolves have two open roster spots. Don’t be surprised if it happens after the Bulls sent Conley to Charlotte in a separate trade, making the Wolves eligible to get him if the Hornets buy him out. They can be players in the buyout market or promote their two-way players to a full-time roster spot. The Wolves currently have 13 players on the roster. They’ll need to get to 14 rostered players at least, under NBA rules.