August 29, 2026 • 6:02 AM EDT
Updated 7 days ago
If you were waiting for fireworks, Minnesota’s latest NBA offseason move is more about smart cap management and long-term gambles than headline highs. On a quiet evening, Timberwolves president Tim Connelly shipped Josh Green and cash to the Utah Jazz, getting back Cody Williams and John Konchar. According to Yahoo Sports, the move’s real purpose isn’t about who’s going to wow you in the box score right away. It’s about pushing the right pieces into place—on and off the court.
Let me lay it out straight: for Minnesota, this is a salary dump with hidden upside. Josh Green’s $14.7 million cap number needed to go if they wanted to make the Jonathan Kuminga deal legit under the salary cap rules. If no one stepped up for Green, Minnesota risked waiving and stretching his contract, eating roughly $5 million a year in dead money over the next three seasons. Instead, they nearly cut that figure in half while landing a former lottery pick who just might surprise us. That’s just good business—and the kind of creative accounting title-contending teams have to pull off.
John Konchar was included for contract matching but won’t stick around. The Wolves plan to waive and stretch his $6.2 million deal, splicing it into manageable cap hits—about $2 million a season for three years. So with both Green’s and Konchar’s deals handled, Minnesota keeps financial flexibility and clears the legal path for Kuminga under the tax-payer mid-level exception. If you’re tracking the numbers, every million counts for a team this deep in the luxury tax.
Key developments in the Timberwolves-Jazz trade
- Josh Green traded from Minnesota to Utah alongside cash.
- Cody Williams and John Konchar move to Minnesota.
- Konchar’s contract will be waived-and-stretched, lowering the annual cap hit.
- The deal allows Minnesota to absorb Jonathan Kuminga via the tax-payer mid-level exception.
- Josh Green was the only realistic salary to move without waiving-and-stretching him.
- Minnesota takes on Cody Williams, a former top 10 pick, as a developmental flyer.
Why Cody Williams isn’t just a throw-in
Cody Williams arrives in Minnesota more as a long-term project than a rotation regular. He’s still on a rookie-scale contract at about $6.5 million per year for two more years. His college days painted him as a seven-foot wingspan athlete who could defend and hit triples, but his NBA story so far? Frankly, rough—he’s struggled to find his footing with a Utah rebuild that hasn’t helped any young player shine recently.
Still, even NBA scouts and podcasts admit Williams showed flashes late last season when he averaged 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists over his last twenty games, though on a Utah team going nowhere. You might not see him in Minnesota’s opening night rotation, and there are no guarantees he even makes the roster. But for Connelly’s front office, this is a classic low-cost bet on upside. We’ve seen them take chances on players who lost their shine elsewhere—sometimes, a change of scenery and real coaching works wonders. Cody needs major development, but at 21 there’s at least a puncher’s chance.
Outside voices are starting to notice too. Zach Lowe’s take sums up the cautious optimism: “I think Cody Williams — who looked like an epic bust of a top-10 pick… has shown enough in the last couple of months that I think there’s a world in which he’s a functional eighth to tenth guy on a good Utah Jazz team. His defense is really improved. He’s a solid defender. He knows how to close out on guys short, he knows how to run guys off the arc, he’s extremely well balanced.” If Minnesota squeezes that level of role-player value out of him, it’s a steal given the contract math involved.
What’s next for the Timberwolves?
The Wolves roster now sits at fourteen contracts, with all two-way slots filled and just one potential open spot left. Minnesota has enough flexibility to keep searching for tweaks, but the big goal is clear: keep enough cap space to stay competitive, while stashing high-upside fliers like Williams for the future. You might not see fireworks now, but these are the types of moves that matter in May and June when playoff rotations tighten and budgets get real.
Key takeaways for bettors and NBA fans
- This trade is about cap management more than instant impact.
- Josh Green was the only salary that made the Kuminga deal possible for Minnesota.
- Waiving-and-stretching Konchar saves Minnesota nearly $3 million a season over doing the same with Green.
- Cody Williams won’t crack the Timberwolves rotation unless he takes a leap, but he’s got raw tools and recent improvement.
- Williams’ contract runs for two more seasons—expect a real tryout year for him in Minnesota.
- The Wolves still have one open roster spot for flexibility ahead of opening night.
- If Williams develops into even a reliable bench defender, this trade’s a quiet win.
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