The Minnesota Timberwolves have been a surprisingly active team in free agency this offseason and now the team has pulled off another move after the moratorium on signings was lifted, as they traded Luke Ridnour to the Milwaukee Bucks.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Timberwolves traded Ridnour to the Bucks to help clear the way for deals for Corey Brewer as well as Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic and njow he will battle for the starting job if the team signs Jeff Teague. The Bucks are also planning on re-signing Brandon Jennings to a deal and the Timberwolves felt they could trade way the star since they have Ricky Rubio starting and Alexey Shved as their point guards.
Ridnour is a solid player and now he offers the Bucks insurance if they can't reach an agreement with Jennings, which appears to be moving slowly. The deal for Ridnour involves a second round pick most likely says the report and now the Wolves will be able to save money as he was set to make over $4 million next season, which clears the way for Brewer's three-year, $15 million deal.
The team is still working on the details for Nikola Pekovic and his four-year, $50 million extension and now they have a core of him, Kevin Love and Rubio for the near future. Ridnour has been a solid player for years and averaged 11.5 points and 3.8 assists last season for the Wolves and he previously played for the Bucks and came off the bench for all 82 games in his second year as a pro in the NBA.
Brewer previously was in the Carmelo Anthony deal and the Wolves are hoping to finish better than last season when they went just 31-51 while dealing with a number of injuries. The team is bringing Kevin Martin in to work with his old coach Rick Adelman and the team also feels that Pekovic is just scratching the surface of his potential after scoring 16 points per game last season. The team is likely losing Andrei Kirilenko and adding Brewer will give the team more depth on the bench. The Bucks have signed Jeff Teague, but the Hawks have the chance to match and they may do so, which could affect what the team does for Jennings.