Back right before the draft, we told you the Minnesota Timberwolves were shopping Anthony Bennett.
It’s heading toward the end of August and Bennett is still with the Timberwolves.
They would still like to move him, but there are no takers, reports Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press:
As I've said in the past, Wolves would move Anthony Bennett for the right price, but there are no active discussions right now
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) August 22, 2015
This should not be a surprise. The former No. 1 pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers has not developed like a top pick is expected to — last season he got in 57 games for the Timberwolves, scored 5.2 points a game when he did, he had a well below average 45.8 percent true shooting percentage and a PER of 11.4. If he were the 14th pick in the draft, we’d be thinking maybe he can evolve into a solid bench player in a couple of years in the right development system.
The problem is he is getting paid like a No 1 pick — $5.8 million this season, with a team option for $7.3 million for 2016-17 that must be exercised by the end of this October. No team would pick up that option. So essentially a team has to want to trade for him as a rental at the price of the mid-level exception, even though he at best can give them limited minutes off the bench.
Which is to say, good luck moving him Flip Saunders without throwing in some sweeteners (future picks). Maybe you’ll have better luck near the trade deadline. Maybe. But probably not.