The Timberwolves needed to clear space below the second apron before they could sign Jonathan Kuminga to his two-year, $12.4 million contract. 

They have not wanted to trade Donte DiVincenzo, who is rehabbing from an Achilles injury this summer. Terrence Shannon Jr. has a tradable contract at $2.8 million, but his upside is worth more than that number, and dumping him would not have made the finances work after signing Kuminga. Beringer will make $4.4 million this season, but the Wolves are very high on him, so dumping the 19-year-old would have been shocking.

All along, the most plausible trade candidate was Josh Green, who could have helped Minnesota with versatile defense and efficient floor spacing, but his production does not play up to his $15.4 million price tag. 

The Wolves traded Green, along with cash, to the Jazz last week for Cody Williams and John Konchar. Minnesota could have kept both Williams and Konchar while narrowly enough room under the second apron to sign Kuminga. Instead, Tim Connelly waived and stretched Konchar’s contract, clearing roughly $4 million on Minnesota’s books, which gives them enough cap space to sign another player to a veteran’s minimum deal.

Konchar, 30, is a 6’5” combo guard who excels on the glass. He is the type of veteran that could help a championship-contending team. However, the Wolves—despite being in pursuit of said championship—elected to keep the young, unproven, and underwhelming Williams over Konchar.

It is a decision that makes sense for these three reasons.

1. Finances

Had the Wolves kept Konchar, they would have paid him $6.2 million this season. Instead, by waiving and stretching that figure, Konchar hits free agency, and Minnesota will pay $2.1 million in dead money each of the next three seasons. That saves the Wolves roughly $4 million this year.

When an NBA team waives and stretches a contract, they pay that player the remaining guaranteed money owed to them using a formula that multiplies the years left on their contract by two, then adds one more year. The player being waived and stretched will still make all of his guaranteed money, but it will be spread evenly over multiple years.

The Wolves could have done that for Williams rather than for Konchar.

Williams will make $6.1 million this season. In 2027-28, he will be paid $7.6 million, but only if the Wolves pick up the team option on his contract. If they don’t, Williams will become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. If Minnesota were to waive-and-stretch Williams’ contract before exercising his team option (which it must do by Oct. 31), then the Wolves would not have to pay that money in dead cap in the future.

Therefore, Minnesota would have had to pay Williams roughly $2 million over the next three seasons if it waived and stretched his contract. That is under $50,000 less than what the Wolves are paying Konchar. The difference between the two is marginal. And with where Williams is at in his career and what the Wolves could potentially need, paying a little extra to keep him around over Konchar makes sense.

2. Defense & positional need

Williams stands 6’8” with a 7’1” wingspan. Over his two years in Utah, the California native developed into a rangy, versatile defender who is productive guarding on and off the ball across multiple positions.

According to halfpast.noon on Instagram, Williams ranked in the 76th percentile in perimeter isolation defense last season, the 82nd percentile in defensive positional versatility, and in the 81st percentile in matchup difficulty. 

With that defense, there was a world where Williams was a rotation player again this year for a Jazz team that will be pushing for a playoff spot. 

Now with the Timberwolves, Williams’ path to rotational minutes is far harder to see as he is buried in a depth chart that features Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Jonathan Kuminga, Terrence Shannon Jr., and Jaylen Clark. However, even after adding Kuminga, the Wolves are still relatively light on players who can slot in at power forward, especially if injuries arise. Williams, with his lengthy defense, can give Minnesota productive defense at that slot in certain matchups.

3. Upside

At the same time, there is a very real chance that Williams never gets an opportunity in Minnesota. 

Utah selected Williams—the younger brother of Oklahoma City Thunder star Jalen Williams—tenth overall out of Colorado in 2024. In 117 games with the Jazz, he averaged seven points on 41.9% from the floor and a rather disgusting 23.7% from deep in 23 minutes per game.

That offensive inefficiency held him back and ultimately led the Jazz to move on from him at just 21 years old. And that same inefficiency could prevent Williams from ever getting a chance with the Wolves.

However, the upside remains. Over his final 20 games last season, Utah was tanking and constantly resting its starters. Williams used that opportunity to average 16 points per game, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists on 54.1% shooting on two-pointers (10.4 attempts) and 20.7% on threes (2.9 attempts) while averaging 34.8 minutes. That stretch also included his career high: 34 points against the Sacramento Kings on March 15.

Keeping Williams—even if he never plays a meaningful role—makes sense for the Wolves. It would have cost Minnesota roughly the same to waive and stretch him as it did Konchar. He offers a versatile defense that is never a bad thing to have on your depth chart in case of an emergency. And there is still some semblance of the lottery-pick talent Williams was two years ago.

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