The Timberwolves made plenty of noise this offseason, but one issue still hangs over the roster: frontcourt depth. With Joan Beringer penciled in as Rudy Gobert’s backup, Minnesota has upside there, but not much certainty. And if foul trouble or an injury hits, the Wolves still need a real emergency answer.
Chris Finch didn’t hide that reality in a recent interview with Britt Robson of MinnPost. He said the team has options, and one of them is putting Jaden McDaniels at the five.
"I think when you look at the roster that we have, we have choices," Finch said. "There is the opportunity for Jaden to go to the five and you would be able to throw other really good defenders out there.
Trey Lyles has metrics at the five that really jump off the chart in some ways. Some of that is his offense helping defense, but I think he is smart enough and got enough bulk to fight and the right DNA to do that.
But I haven’t settled on anything yet and I don’t think anyone here has yet. I can see us leaning into more and more zone (coverage).
We’ve been a pretty good zone team."
That kind of flexibility matters, because the most obvious backup-big options come with limitations. Beringer is still unproven and dealt with foul trouble last season.
Trey Lyles is another possibility, but he played overseas last season and isn’t a strong rim protector. That’s why McDaniels stands out as the cleanest emergency fix.
He’s already known for shutting down opponents on the perimeter, but there’s more to his defensive profile than that. Databallr had McDaniels in the 95th percentile for blocks per 100 possessions last season. Basketball Index also placed him in the 92nd percentile in rim disruption and the 88th percentile in rim protection.
McDaniels is still best used as a point-of-attack defender. Few players can match him there.
But his versatility gives Minnesota something useful if the Wolves need to survive stretches without a traditional center. He can create chaos, protect the basket in a pinch, and let the rest of the defense stay aggressive around him.
That kind of wrinkle could matter even more with Minnesota’s new-look roster. Ideally, Gobert and Beringer would cover all 48 minutes at the rim, but over an 82-game season, that kind of clean rotation rarely lasts.
Injuries happen. Fouls happen.
And when they do, McDaniels at the five gives the Wolves a real option.
The pieces around him help too. With Ayo Dosunmu, Anthony Edwards, and Jonathan Kuminga available to handle plenty of the point-of-attack work, Minnesota can afford to ask McDaniels to do more near the basket in certain lineups. Finch’s comments about leaning more into zone coverage only strengthen that idea, since a zone could help smooth out any drop-off on the perimeter.
Minnesota already showed a version of that last season. In a November win over the San Antonio Spurs, the Timberwolves finished the game in a zone, with McDaniels in the middle.
That same setup could also open the door to more five-out looks on offense, giving the Wolves a different kind of spacing and making them even harder to guard.
So while McDaniels at center probably won’t be the day-to-day answer, it looks like a smart situational move. For a team with one obvious weakness left, that’s a pretty valuable card to have.
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The Lakers, meanwhile, are left sorting through the fallout after missing out on that move and still have a roster issue they need to clean up quickly. They are working the trade market with Dalton Knecht and Jarred Vanderbilt as they try to strengthen their wing and forward spots before the season starts, a reminder that the margins around the roster are still very much in play. [Read more 🡒]
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The concern, though, is less about talent than fit. Kuminga brings the kind of ability that can change a game, but the Wolves have watched how quickly a player can bog down an offense when the role is not fully embraced. If he slips into the same kind of ball-dominant habits and mental mistakes that frustrated Minnesota with Randle, the team could be right back where it started, which is why how Kuminga handles his place in the offense matters so much. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Young Depth Faces A Real Fight For Finchs Rotation
The Timberwolves enter the season with a rotation that already looks crowded if everyone stays healthy, and that is before the younger depth pieces get a real chance to push their way into the picture. With starters LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Jonathan Kuminga and Rudy Gobert, plus reserves Ayo Dosunmu and Joan Beringer, there are not many obvious openings for the rest of the bench to claim.
Still, the early competition is where this gets interesting, because a few young names are trying to turn projected depth into something more meaningful. Terrence Shannon Jr. and Bones Hyland appear to have the clearest path to minutes at the start of the year, while Jaylen Clark and Trey Lyles sit in the gray area where a strong camp could move them into the regular mix or leave them fighting for scraps. [Read more 🡒]