NBA Free Agency 2018: 5 offseason targets for the Minnesota Timberwolves

5. Ersan Ilyasova

After falling off of the NBA map for the better part of three years, Ersan Ilyasova had a nice resurgence in Philadelphia late last season. He’s changed teams seven times since the summer of 2015, mostly journeying from one tanking team to the next. But when the 76ers brought on Ilyasova at the veteran minimum in February, he became a critical part of their ridiculous late season winning streak. His ability to spread the floor, screen or flare out in pick-and-rolls, and also crash the glass for garbage points, really benefited Philadelphia. He helped unlock some interesting lineups for the Sixers during their stretch through April and May.

Although Ilyasova’s jumper has abandoned him at times throughout his career, he’s generally been a good shooter from 3-point range (nearly 37 percent over his 10-year career). Giving him heavy minutes might be unsustainable from a defensive perspective, but adding Ilyasova to this Timberwolves roster would give the cramped offense some space. He’s also a willing passer, that moves the ball quickly and finds open players. On a team without any particularly heady passers, throwing that kind of player into the mix is always helpful. Ilyasova doesn’t bring much on the defensive end other than an uncanny ability to draw charges. He’s gets those role player calls from refs pretty often though.

Adding a player like Ersan will largely depend on how the restricted free agency of Bjelica plays out (more on him later). But at the very least, Ilyasova would be a cost-effective replacement for Bjelica if the Wolves can’t work out a deal for the Serbian forward.