The Minnesota Timberwolves may have stumbled into the kind of low-cost answer every front office hopes to find and almost never does. While the rest of the NBA looked elsewhere, Nate Santos has been torching Las Vegas Summer League, and he suddenly looks like a real candidate to fill the shooting void left by Donte DiVincenzo.
That need is obvious. DiVincenzo is expected to miss most of the season, even if there’s still a chance he could be back by the playoffs.
Minnesota needs more shooting, but the usual fix - trading for a replacement - comes with a steep price. The Timberwolves would likely have to give up either their last draft pick or young center prospect Joan Beringer, and that’s before even getting into the matching salary issue tied to DiVincenzo.
With a power forward need also hanging over the roster, the Wolves can’t afford to burn major resources on one problem if they can avoid it.
That’s where Santos enters the picture.
The 6'7" wing had a strong college run, starting as a backup at Pitt before becoming a star at Dayton and earning All A-10 honors in each of his final two seasons. He entered the 2025 NBA Draft with a chance to hear his name called, but went undrafted.
Minnesota grabbed him last September, and he spent last season with the Iowa Wolves. Even now, the Timberwolves have not given him anything beyond a summer league deal, which means another team could have taken a shot then - and could still do it now.
Instead, Santos is the one making the noise. He’s shooting 50 percent from deep on 7.3 attempts per game in Las Vegas, opened with 20 points in the Wolves’ first game, and hasn’t cooled off since. The production has been loud enough to turn him from a deep bench name into a legitimate option.
He’s not doing it with a broad all-around game. Santos isn’t piling up assists, steals, or blocks, and he is not expected to be a defensive difference-maker. His size and length help some on that end, but his value is pretty clear: he’s a shooting specialist.
That’s exactly what Minnesota needs. A cheap two-way option who can space the floor, launch from 3-point range, and then slide into the background once DiVincenzo is back would help preserve both cap flexibility and the little draft capital the Wolves still have.
Santos could still flame out in training camp or early in the season, and Minnesota would need to move on quickly if that happens. But the shooting he’s shown in Las Vegas is enough to force a serious look.
For now, the Wolves may have found the kind of replacement they weren’t supposed to have.
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