The 2012 free agency period is barely underway, but the Minnesota Timberwolves are already making plenty of noise, and plan to bring in free agent forwards Jordan Hill (Lakers) and Greg Stiemsma (Celtics) for a visit.
Hill, the eighth overall pick in 2009, has already played for three organizations in his brief tenure in the league, but has yet to crack a starting rotation. A standout athlete at 6-foot-10 with a soft touch around the basket and intriguing offensive rebounding skills, the former Arizona star is still just 24 years old and could be a serious boost to Minnesota's frontcourt if the T-Wolves are willing to go higher than the four-year, $17 million deal that Los Angeles can offer him.
Stiemsma, an undrafted commodity from Wisconsin who has carved out a niche in the NBA as a backup center, already received a $1.05 million qualifying offer from Boston. He too is still young enough to provide plenty of hope in the frontcourt at age 26. And after already offering Blazers restricted forward Nicolas Batum a four-year contract in the $45-50 million range, it's clear that Minnesota is well on its way towards replacing departed forward Michael Beasley right away in free agency.
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