With a new star point guard in the mix, the Minnesota Timberwolves head into 2026-27 with plenty to be excited about. But the next step for this team won’t come from one player alone. It’ll come from a handful of key pieces tightening up specific parts of their game.
That’s the real theme here: every important Wolf has something to clean up, sharpen, or push forward if this group is going to hit its ceiling. Here’s one number each of seven notable Minnesota players should be aiming to improve.
Anthony Edwards, for one, has already climbed into the conversation as a possible top MVP candidate. To keep rising, though, he needs more than scoring volume.
Last season, he averaged 3.7 assists, his fewest since his rookie year. Even with Ball now on the roster, Edwards will still have the ball plenty and will still be expected to make the right reads.
Rudy Gobert is another player whose number should go up. He finished last season at 10.9 points per game, his lowest mark since 2015-16, even while leading the league in field goal percentage for the fourth time in his career.
He also closed the playoffs by going scoreless in Game 6 of the conference semifinals. With Ball feeding him, the Wolves should be able to get him more lobs and easier finishes.
LaMelo Ball’s own adjustment is a little different. The Wolves should be able to put real pressure on defenses, and that can create foul trouble for opponents.
For that to happen, Ball has to get back closer to how he played earlier in his career. His 3.2 free-throw attempts per 36 minutes were a career low over his six NBA seasons, and just 11.2 percent of his field goal attempts came at the rim last year.
Joan Beringer is in line for a much bigger role after playing only 314 total minutes as a rookie. With Julius Randle and Naz Reid no longer on the team, the 20-year-old is expected to take on more responsibility.
His upside as a rim protector is obvious, but he’ll have to stay out of foul trouble. He averaged 5.4 fouls per 36 minutes, and that number could become a major issue with more playing time.
Jaden McDaniels has the kind of defensive edge coaches love, but that same intensity can get him in trouble. Chris Finch may be reluctant to start him at power forward because it could open the door to more fouls.
McDaniels fouled out four times in the regular season, and in seven of Minnesota’s 12 postseason games he was tagged with five fouls. The Wolves need him on the floor too much for that to keep happening.
Ayo Dosunmu brings a different kind of value. He shot 43.9 percent from 3 last season, which ranked sixth in the league, but his volume was low at 5.4 3-point attempts per 36 minutes in 2025-26. Minnesota won’t want him forcing looks, but if he’s open, the green light should stay on.
Terrence Shannon Jr. is another player who can put pressure on defenses, especially if Chris Finch keeps giving him more on-ball responsibilities. Finch said during the offseason that Shannon should handle the ball more.
There’s a chance he could crack the starting lineup, but it seems more likely that role comes in reserve minutes. Either way, his path to more impact runs through getting to the line more often.
He drew fouls consistently in his five years of college basketball, and he showed more of that in his second NBA season.
In Other News...
Anthony Edwards No Longer Has To Carry The Wolves This Way
The Timberwolves finally have a clearer path for Anthony Edwards, and it starts with LaMelo Ball taking over the lead-guard duties. For a team that spent stretches asking Edwards to do a little bit of everything, the fit now looks cleaner: Ball can organize the offense, Edwards can settle into more of a natural scoring role, and Chris Finch believes the whole group benefits when the backcourt is defined that way.
Finch has made no secret that the new setup should streamline Minnesotas offense and make life easier for the players around its stars. The interesting part is how quickly that adjustment could ripple beyond the headline names, because Balls presence changes more than just where Edwards catches the ball. It gives the Wolves a different shape, a better flow, and a chance to see how much more efficient this group can be when the pieces stop overlapping so much. [Read more 🡒]
Chris Finch Just Sent A Powerful Message About Anthony Edwards
Chris Finch is still thinking about the way he handled Anthony Edwards after Game 1 of the Timberwolves 2025 semifinals series against the Warriors. On The Road Trippin' podcast, the Minnesota coach admitted he regretted criticizing his star guard in public, saying the call-out was unnecessary. It was a revealing moment from a coach who has usually leaned on trust and candor with his best player, and it said as much about Finchs standards as it did about the growing responsibility Edwards carries for this team.
Finch also made clear the relationship between the two remains strong, which matters for a Wolves group that has continued to build around Edwards rise as both a scorer and a leader. The more interesting part now is how naturally Edwards handled the response, turning it into a productive stretch for the rest of the series and reinforcing why Finch views him as more than just a talented young star. In a season where Minnesotas ceiling depends so heavily on Edwards growth, even a moment of friction seemed to underline how far he has come. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Interest In Jonathan Kuminga Just Hit A Serious Roadblock
Jonathan Kumingas market is starting to sort itself out, and from the Timberwolves perspective, the numbers have already done most of the talking. The Lakers have reportedly put together a sign-and-trade framework worth around $45 million, while other suitors have begun to pivot or narrow their focus elsewhere. Minnesota, along with Sacramento, has been interested, but only at a price point that reflects a much smaller commitment than Kuminga is likely looking for.
That leaves the Wolves in a familiar kind of bind: interested enough to monitor the situation, but not aggressive enough to move the needle on a player with real upside. Kuminga is not viewed as a veteran-minimum add-on, and he is not eager to settle for a short-term bargain deal while better offers are taking shape elsewhere. For Minnesota, the question is no longer whether he is on the radar, but whether there is any realistic path to getting him without outbidding the very market that has now made the roadblock obvious. [Read more 🡒]