Portland has officially matched the Wolves' offer sheet for Nicolas Batum, which might be the best thing that could have happened. Instead of giving up a ransom in a sign-and-trade or simply overpaying for the swingman, the contract is now the Blazers' problem and the Wolves have cap room to work with in trying to shore up their roster.
Except ...
One of the biggest problems with the Wolves roster in recent years (and there have been plenty) is that they have had far too many players making mid-level money on long-term deals. When those players fall out of favor, they become tough contracts do dump ... and in the mean time, it can lead to a mish-mash of players not quite good enough for their roles in the rotation -- a clear top and a clear bottom but a muddled middle.
Minnesota seemed to be getting out from under that to a degree with Darko, Martell Webster and others jettisoned via various means.
But with Batum out of the picture, are the Wolves going to fill up their cap space with ... more of the same types of players? In other words, they were going to overpay for Batum, but he had a chance to be a dollar bill. If you think everything left is a combination of quarters, dimes and nickels, will everything on the roster add up?
