The Timberwolves have guaranteed 27-year old center Chris Johnson’s contract for the 2013-14 season at the league minimum.  Johnson played in 30 games (0 starts) for the T-Wolves last year and he averaged 9.5 minutes, 3.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Johnson shot an impressive 64% from the floor, but only 61.8% from the free throw line last year.  Johnson has now played in 71 games (1 start) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 8.4 minutes. 2.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

The Timberwolves have released 28-year old shooting guard Brandon Roy.  Roy only played in 5 games (all starts) for the Timberwolves last year and he averaged 24.4 minutes, 5.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.  Roy has played in 326 games (300 starts) in his first six years in the NBA and he is averaging 35.5 minutes, 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  It was smart of the T-Wolves to cut ties with Roy as his knees are likely going to prevent him from ever being the player he was in Portland, and that is a shame.

The Timberwolves will be without 24-year old power forward Kevin Love indefinitely as he has re-fractured his right hand. Love has played in 18 games (all starts) for the T-Wolves so far this year and he is averaging 34.3 minutes, 18.3 points, 14.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. But, Love is only shooting 35.2% from the floor, 21.7% from the three point line and 70.4% from the free throw line so far this year. The T-Wolves hope that 25-year old Dante Cunningham and 21-year old Derrick Williams will step up until Love returns to action. Cunningham has played in 30 games (2 starts) for the T-Wolves so far this year and he is averaging 23.0 minutes, 7.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. He has moved into the starting lineup. Williams has played in 26 games (9 starts) for the Timberwolves so far this year and he is averaging 17.4 minutes, 8.5 points, 4.2 rebound and 0.9 assists per game.

UPDATE: Kevin Love will need surgery to repair his broken hand and he will miss the next 8-10 weeks.

28-year old shooting guard Brandon Roy will miss at least a month due to having his 7th knee surgery of his NBA career. This surgery was arthroscopic on his right knee. Roy has played in 5 games (all starts) for the T-Wolves so far this year and he is averaging 24.4 minutes, 5.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. Roy is only shooting 11 of 35 (31.4%) from the floor and he is 0 for 9 shooting from three point range so far this year. The T-Wolves had to know that this could happen as Roy actually retired last year due to his knees.

The Timberwolves have signed 32-year old SG/SF Josh Howard to a 1-year deal at the league minimum. Howard played in 43 games (18 starts) for the Jazz last year and he averaged 23.0 minutes, 8.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He has now played in 496 games (399 starts) in his first 9 years in the NBA and he is averaging 30.5 minutes, 14.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game. This was a good move for the T-Wolves as Howard will likely fill Chase Budinger’s role for the next couple of months.

24-year old SG/SF Chase Budinger will miss the next 3-4 months after undergoing recent knee surgery. Budinger has played in 6 games (1 start) for the Timberwolves so far this year and he is averaging 23.5 minutes, 11.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game. This is going to be a big blow to the T-Wolves as Budinger was giving them solid offense off the bench.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed 31-year old forward Andrei Kirilenko to a 2-year, $20 million dollar deal. Kirilenko played in 43 games in Russia and Euroleague last year in which he averaged 25.8 minutes, 12.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game. He last played in the NBA with the Jazz in the 2010-11 season. Kirilenko has played in 681 games (478 starts) in his first 10 years in the NBA and he is averaging 30.8 minutes, 12.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. This was a good move for the T-Wolves as Kirilenko plays hard at both ends of the court. He will be the T-Wolves new starting small forward.

The Timberwolves have dealt 25-year old SG/SF Wesley Johnson and a lottery protected first round pick to the Phoenix Suns for a 2013 and 2016 2nd round pick from the Hornets and a 2nd round pick in 2014 from the Suns. The Hornets acquired center Robin Lopez and forward Hakim Warrick as their part of this deal. The Suns also got guard Jerome Dyson and center Brad Miller from the Hornets in this big, three team deal.

Johnson played in played in 65 games (64 starts) for the Timberwolves last year and he averaged 22.6 minutes, 6.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. He played in 144 games (127 starts) in his two years with the T-Wolves and he averaged 24.6 minutes, 7.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. The first round pick the Timberwolves sent to the Suns originally belonged to the Memphis Grizzlies. It is lottery protected until the 2017 season, when it would become a 2nd round pick plus cash.

This was purely a salary dump trade so that the Timberwolves could sign forward Andrei Kirilenko.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have acquired 25-year old power forward Dante Cunningham from the Grizzlies for 24-year old shooting guard Wayne Ellington. Cunningham played in 64 games (5 starts) for the Grizzlies last year and he averaged 17.6 minutes, 5.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He has now played in 205 games (25 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 16.9 minutes, 5.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Wayne Ellington played in 51 games (4 starts) for the T-Wolves last year and he averaged 19.1 minutes, 6.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He played in 189 games (13 starts) in three years with the T-Wolves and he averaged 18.7 minutes, 6.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. This is a deal that will likely help both teams involved.

The Timberwolves have signed 26-year old center Greg Stiemsma. He played in 55 games (3 starts) as a rookie for the Celtics last year and he averaged 13.9 minutes, 2.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Stiemsma is a solid rebounder and shot blocker, but he isn’t going to help the T-Wolves much offensively. He will be Nikola Pekovic’s backup in 2012-13.