Despite the newest signing of veteran forward Luol Deng, the Minnesota Timberwolves are unlikely to add to the mix just yet and bring in Joakim Noah to complete the former Chicago Bulls starting five under Tom Thibodeau.
The Timberwolves plan to stay under the luxury tax this season even after signing Luol Deng, potentially staying with 14 players heading into the regular season, according to Dane Moore of 1500 ESPN Radio.
Minnesota also has the pending extension to reel in Karl-Anthony Towns long-term, one which he's expected to sign at one point or another. That will also factor into the cap, making Noah's addition that much more unlikely with a franchise player of Towns' caliber ahead in the depth chart.
Noah is still with the Knicks and will likely play out the season on the bench, unless he is bought out or used as a trade chip, but the gigantic $18.5 million owed to him this season ($37.8 million overall) are way more than teams would be looking to log around at any point of the season.
Seems that for now, Thibodeau will have to do with Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, Derrick Rose, and Deng in his roster, still one member away from his lauded 2013-14 roster with the Chicago Bulls, once he's slowly reunited throughout the past two years.