After spending the first four and a half years of his NBA career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Shabazz Muhammad officially wants out. Incredibly poor defense by Muhammad has made him unplayable in the eyes of Tom Thibodeau.
In fact, Muhammad ranks 461st out of 462 in defensive real plus-minus, a statistic used to evaluate a player’s defensive contributions.
It’s a bit of a mystery why Muhammad is so poor defensively. His athletic frame and large build seem to be the makings of a solid defender, but either effort or mental acuity just simply isn’t up to the task. The one thing that Muhammad can do is score, averaging 13.5 points in only 22.8 minutes per game during the 2014-15 season.
The man is still only 25 years old, so there is hope that he can improve on that end of the floor, especially considering that injuries and lack of playing time have robbed him of a chance to improve consistently.
Shabazz Muhammad will be looking for a fresh start somewhere, proving that he belongs in the NBA. He was re-signed this offseason by the Timberwolves to the veteran minimum.
Muhammad was offered a 4-year, $40 million extension prior to last season, but turned it down believing his play could convince the Timberwolves that he was worth more than that. But instead of increasing his value, he tanked it, and received the veteran’s minimum instead.
Muhammad has stated to the team that he would either like to be bought out of his contract or traded to another team prior to the trade deadline on February 8th. Only time will tell if Muhammad is on the move.
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