Heading into the 2022-23 NBA regular season, there were plenty of folks who had high expectations for the Minnesota Timberwolves. After trading for All-NBA center Rudy Gobert in the 2022 offseason, it seemed like the Timberwolves had a legitimate chance to make a very deep playoff run in the spring and even represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals in June.

But fast forward to the current day, and it's clear that the Timberwolves fell very short of their preseason expectations. Karl-Anthony Towns being limited to just 29 games during the regular season was a big part of the reason why the Wolves underachieved, but Minnesota ended the year with a mediocre 42-40 record and barely made the Western Conference playoffs as the eighth seed in the conference. Nikola Jokic and the top-seeded Denver Nuggets then made quick work of the Timberwolves, as they eliminated them in five games in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Minnesota Timberwolves 2022-23 season was certainly underwhelming, but a productive free-agency period could have helped fans forget about the season that was. Unfortunately, though, the Wolves have arguably lost more than they've gained in free agency so far.

3-and-d wing Taurean Prince (Los Angeles Lakers) has found a new home with another NBA franchise. And as far as additions go, the Timberwolves have signed Philadelphia 76ers guard Shake Milton and Los Angeles Lakers guard Troy Brown so far. Milton and Brown are both rock-solid, rotation-caliber players, but it's puzzling as to why the Timberwolves have yet to sign a player at the small forward position. With all of that said, let's take a look at one big mistake that the Minnesota Timberwolves made in NBA free agency:

1 big mistake by Timberwolves in 2023 NBA free agency

Not adding a small forward to the roster

The Timberwolves are short on depth at the small forward position. Kyle Anderson is a valuable Swiss army knife type of player, but he's a borderline starter at best and might be better suited coming off the bench. So the Timberwolves would be wise to add a small forward to their roster in free agency. And one name no longer on the free-agent market who would have made a lot of sense for the Timberwolves is New York Knicks forward Josh Hart.

Hart is best known for his defensive acumen, and rightfully so. Josh Hart is an elite defender at the wing position who takes pride in guarding the best player on the opposing team night in and night out. A big component of what makes Hart such an impactful defender is his penchant for coming up with steals, as he averaged 1.4 takeaways per game with New York in the 2022-23 campaign.

Josh Hart's stingy defense might be what he's famous for, but he brings far more to the table besides being a disruptive defender. He's also an elite rebounder and playmaker at the forward position, as Hart averaged 7.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game with the Knicks this season. Additionally, Hart is a very capable three-point shooter — he shot 51.9% from behind the arc as a Knick.

At this juncture, only time will tell if the Minnesota Timberwolves will stand pat with their current roster or decide to add more players via free agency. But what's already abundantly clear is that the Timberwolves should have aggressively pursued Josh Hart in free agency.