INDIANAPOLIS – Among the items on the to-do list for first-year Timberwolves President Gersson Rosas were to find players that fit the fast-paced, high-volume three-point-hoisting style the Wolves want to play, and to find a way to create some flexibility as it pertains to the roster and the salary cap.
Rosas made a move on both those fronts Thursday, trading Jeff Teague and Treveon Graham to Atlanta for Allen Crabbe.
The trade isn't a flashy one. It involves a pair of high-priced veterans both on expiring deals in Teague, who is making $19 million this season, and Crabbe, who is making $18.5 million — deals worth more than they are producing. But with the move, the Wolves create a roster spot they can use in future deals before next month's trade deadline, or perhaps to sign two-way player Kelan Martin to a full NBA contract. They also save a little money, which can be helpful for consummating more deals.
"We want to be positioned where we can take advantage of opportunities that present themselves where we can acquire a high-level [player] and give a team space if they need it," Rosas said in a teleconference Thursday.
In the meantime, the Wolves are going to see what they have in Crabbe while moving on from players who didn't quite fit what they are trying to accomplish.
Teague, 31, dealt with a variety of injuries last season before he had a left ankle debridement procedure in April. He exercised a player option on the third year of his deal, which he signed when Tom Thibodeau was coach and president, to rejoin the Wolves for $19 million. In a mutual decision between him and coach Ryan Saunders, Teague shifted to a bench role in November, and he has been there ever since.
He is averaging 13.2 points and 6.1 assists on 45% shooting, but his propensity to hang on to the ball while running the offense has clashed at times with the fast, heavy-ball-movement style the Wolves want to play.
"I'll give Jeff a lot of credit for trying and doing whatever was asked of him, to try to be a good fit in our system," Rosas said. "I think, big picture, it's just a different game. And the way he plays, this system is maybe not as complementary in that we need our lead guard to be a guy who pushes tempo, is more of a creator than a scorer. … He's been very successful in this league a long time playing the way he plays. But at the end of the day, I think as personnel develop you can either fit or not fit. Jeff did everything he could on his end."
