Let's not beat around the bush – Minnesota is not exactly the easiest place to sell to NBA players who have the option to play in Miami, New York or Los Angeles. The fact that the Timberwolves have been perennially unsuccessful during their three decades or so in the league doesn't help either, and with part of that lack of success due to their inability to lure free agents, it's a vicious cycle for one of the league's newest franchises. Their list of top free agent signings is not exactly filled to the brim with superstars, but there are nonetheless a handful of names who have had a reasonable impact on the franchise. These are eight of the best of them.
8. Andrei Kirilenko (2012)
Andrei Kirilenko was a much better player than most of the names ahead of him on this list, but given he spent just a solitary season in Minnesota it's hard to have him much higher. After ten seasons with the Jazz, Kirilenko finally left in search of greener pastures – though perhaps unsurprisingly he didn't find them in Minnesota. He signed a two-year deal worth $20 million and was a good player in his solitary year with the team, but unfortunately that year yielded just 31 wins. The Timberwolves were on the way up having won 26 the season prior and 17 the season before that, but Kirilenko didn't stick around to find out how it went, declining his player option to sign with the Nets in 2013.
7. Terry Porter (1995)
By the time Terry Porter signed with the Timberwolves in 1995 he was 32 years of age and past his best, but he nonetheless provided a valuable veteran presence on an improving young team. He started 40 of his 82 games in his first season with the team, averaging 9.4 points and 5.5 assists, but when Stephon Marbury arrived the next season he was moved more permanently to the pine. But while Porter's production diminished as a result of his young teammate, his experience and level head provided a handy foil to the less composed Marbury and helped to guide the Timberwolves to consecutive finals appearances – their first ever in the NBA.
6. Fred Hoiberg (2003)
Fred Hoiberg was another who signed with the Timberwolves in the twilight of his career, and though he only spent a couple of seasons in Minnesota, his presence on the most successful team they've ever had made him a valuable pick up. He was a long way down the pecking order on this team, well behind the likes of Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell, but he was an absolute dead-eye from the outside, shooting 44.2% in his first season with the team and an incredible 48.3% in his second. The first of those saw the Timberwolves advance past the first round of the playoffs for the only time in their history to date, making their way to the Conference Finals, and though Hoiberg wasn't the primary reason why he was certainly a valuable piece of the puzzle. Unfortunately his career came to an end after two seasons with the Timberwolves as a result of a heart condition, but he made his mark over the course of those two years.
5. Trenton Hassell (2003)
Like Hoiberg, Trenton Hassell joined the Timberwolves in 2003 and in his first season helped them to the Conference Finals, filling a valuable role on a team with plenty of more lauded players. He was by no means a superstar; Hassell averaged 5.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists in that first year, but it was at the other end of the floor where he really made his presence known, often following around the opponent's best player and making life very difficult for them. He would go on to play four seasons in Minnesota, and though his stats certainly didn't jump off the page – he never averaged more than 9.2 points, 3.2 rebounds or 2.7 assists in a single year – he was a solid player for them over that time.
4. Troy Hudson (2002)
Troy Hudson had to work hard for his career in the NBA, initially going undrafted in 1997 before bouncing around between the top level and the Continental Basketball Association for the next five years. After the best season of his career to that point in 2001-02 with the Magic, however, he signed with the Timberwolves and improved even further. Hudson would go on to play five seasons with the team, including the aforementioned Conference Finals run in his second, but it was his first season there which was by far the best. He averaged 14.2 points and 5.7 assists in 2002-03, and importantly had a massive impact – albeit an ultimately fruitless one – against the Lakers in the first round. In Game 2, Hudson exploded for a huge 37-point, 10-assist performance, and the 23.5 points and 5.5 assists per game that he averaged throughout that series helped the Wolves take the more fancied Lakers to six games.
3. Chauncey Billups (2000)
How different this could have been for the Timberwolves. After an inconspicuous first four seasons in the NBA with three different teams, Chauncey Billups signed on a two-year deal worth just $4.7 million in 2000, and it was while in Minnesota that he began to develop into a far better player than what the beginning of his career suggested he could be. In his first year with the Wolves, Billups averaged just 9.3 points and 3.4 assists, but he showed significant improved in his second, jumping up to 12.5 points and 5.5 assists while also shooting a career-best 39.4% from the outside. Unfortunately, after those two seasons he headed to the Pistons, where he of course became a legend of the franchise during a career which included the 2004 Finals MVP. Had he hung around, he would be at the top of this list.
2. Joe Smith (1999)
Joe Smith's time with Minnesota is unfortunately largely remembered for the tampering which came with it and cost the team an enormous fine, a fine which would subsequently cripple them and play a huge role in their inability to develop as a franchise. That aside, however, he was a really nice player for the team over the course of the two two-year periods he spent in Minnesota, forming a dangerous one-two punch in the frontcourt alongside Kevin Garnett. In his first season with the team, Smith averaged 13.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, before his production waned a little in the second as he predominantly came off the bench. He went on to play for the Pistons the next season before returning to the Timberwolves for two more, and with him often back in the starting lineup they went on to win 50+ games in both of those seasons before he was shipped off to the Bucks. The fine which his contract yielded put a big black mark next to his signing, but in terms of on-court production he was one of the better free agent pick-ups the Timberwolves have ever managed.
1. Sam Mitchell (1989)
After spending a few years playing in the lower leagues, Sam Mitchell first signed with the Timberwolves in 1989 as a 25-year-old. Few could have predicted the output he would have at the franchise. At no point was he a superstar, but Mitchell would go on to play ten total seasons with the Timberwolves – three the first time around and seven the second, with a three-year stint in Indiana sandwiched in the middle. At the time of writing, he is second in games played, fourth in points and fifth in rebounds for the team, while his impact extended beyond his playing career, too. Mitchell would go on to coach the Bucks, Raptors and Nets, winning Coach of the Year in 2007, before returning to the Timberwolves as an assistant in 2014 and acting as an interim coach the following season. Not bad for the signing of a 25-year-old playing in Montpellier.
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