The start of the 2024-25 NBA season is just about 48 hours away, and the Minnesota Timberwolves enter the year with championship expectations after making the Western Conference Finals for just the second-time in franchise history last season. The Wolves have already made their one big move, trading franchise cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
But the Timberwolves are still working around the margins to get their final opening night roster in place, and that includes working on potentially finding a new home for Keita Bates-Diop.
According to The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski, Keita Bates-Diop wasn't at Timberwolves practice on Sunday afternoon. “Appears he’s the odd man out in the final roster moves before the season begins,” Krawczynski speculated on X, formerly Twitter.
Keita Bates-Diop was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2nd Round of the 2018 NBA Draft, traded to Denver just over a year later, and has since bounced around the league, playing for the Nuggets, Spurs, Suns and Nets. Last season, splitting time between Phoenix and Brooklyn, the Ohio State product averaged 3.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
On Threads on Saturday, longtime NBA writer Jake Fischer noted that Keita Bates-Diop was being shopped by the Timberwolves for one specific reason.
“The Timberwolves have looked to find a trade for veteran Keita Bates-Diop, sources said, to allow Minnesota to keep a personal favorite of president Tim Connelly on the roster: PJ Dozier.”
Dozier spent two and a half seasons in Denver while Tim Connelly was still with the Nuggets, initially signing in the Mile High City on a two-way contract before it was eventually converted to a multi-year NBA contract. Dozier signed a one-year, partially guaranteed $2.6 million deal with Minnesota in July.
In three seasons under Connelly's watch in Denver, PJ Dozier averaged 6.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Last year, Dozier for Partizan Belgrade in Serbia. Assuming the Timberwolves find a way to make space for Dozier, he'll likely just be a depth piece deep on Minnesota's bench.
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