Minnesota’s rookie Isaiah Evans is walking into a familiar kind of squeeze.
The Timberwolves see plenty to like in him. Even though he went 33rd overall, Evans was viewed as a first-round talent, and his shooting gives him a real NBA calling card. But talent and opportunity are not the same thing, and right now it’s tough to see a clean path to steady minutes.
Joan Beringer already lived through that reality as a rookie. Minnesota believed in him, too, but the frontcourt was crowded and the minutes just weren’t there.
Beringer ended up playing 314 minutes across 40 games, and a lot of that came in spot-duty situations rather than anything close to a full-time role. Evans could be headed for a similar experience, including time in Iowa.
The difference is that the Wolves’ roster has shifted. After trading Julius Randle and Naz Reid, there are openings in the frontcourt.
Evans, though, doesn’t fit that lane. He’s a guard/wing, and that part of the roster is packed.
LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, Ayo Dosunmu, Jaden McDaniels, Terrence Shannon Jr., Jaylen Clark, Bones Hyland, Cody Williams, and Donte DiVincenzo, if he returns, all sit ahead of him in the mix. Clark, Hyland, and Williams are not locked into their spots, and Williams is probably out of the rotation entirely. Even so, if Evans climbs past two of those names, he still lands as the ninth man.
That doesn’t mean the Wolves are wrong about him. Far from it.
Evans was one of the best 3-point shooters in the 2026 Draft, hitting 38 percent from deep on 5.8 attempts per game over two seasons at Duke. He can punish teams as a spot-up option or working off screens, and that kind of shooting travels.
Summer league was rough, but the college track record is much more convincing. In his sophomore year, he also flashed more self-creation and a better overall scoring package, which gives him a path beyond being just a catch-and-shoot specialist.
He still has work to do. His playmaking needs to improve, and while he competes on defense, he could use more strength.
Even with those gaps, Evans has the ingredients to become a high-end role player who can fit alongside Anthony Edwards. That kind of development may not show up in the box score right away, but the upside is there.
The bigger question is whether Chris Finch will give him a real chance. Some have already chalked up Evans’ likely limited role to Finch’s reluctance to play rookies, and there’s some history behind that view. Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. didn’t get much run in their first season, either.
But there’s a straightforward explanation. Minnesota is trying to win now, and that means Finch isn’t going to hand out minutes just to hand them out.
Beringer was raw. Dillingham was even rawer.
Shannon had a crowded path on an established top-eight group that included two bench wings.
Seen that way, Finch’s approach makes sense. If Evans ends up stuck outside the rotation, it won’t be some mystery. It’ll be because the Wolves already have too much established talent in front of him.
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For the Timberwolves, that opens a more believable path back into the chase at the top of the West, especially after their own roster changes this summer. Minnesota still needs a few things to break right to turn that opening into a real threat, including younger pieces becoming steady rotation options, but the door is no longer closed the way it looked in May. [Read more 🡒]