With media day set for Monday, September 28, the Minnesota Timberwolves are nearly finished building out their roster. Seventeen of the 18 spots are basically spoken for, with three starters back, six bench players returning, and all three two-way players still in place.
That leaves five new faces in camp, and each one arrives with a different calling card. LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga are expected to slide into the starting mix, while Trey Lyles, Cody Williams, and Isaish Evans are looking to carve out minutes on a roster that already has plenty of them spoken for. The question now is simple: what does each newcomer do best?
Ball’s top gift is easy to spot. He changes the game as a playmaker, whether he’s creating his own shot or setting up everyone else.
In 2025-26 with the Charlotte Hornets, Ball logged 2.3 isolation plays per game and produced 0.96 points per possession, which was 0.2 points better than Julius Randle on 3.4 attempts last season. That kind of efficiency on fewer isolations could fit neatly next to Anthony Edwards, especially if Edwards keeps leaning into his own heavy isolation load of 6.2 attempts per game.
The passing is the other half of the equation. Ball averaged 7.1 assists last season and posted a 38.4% assist percentage, good for seventh in the NBA among players who appeared in more than 50 games.
He was just 0.3 percentage points behind Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers. Put the scoring and passing together, and Minnesota gets a playmaking element it has not had at this level in recent seasons.
Kuminga brings a different kind of value. The reputation says isolation scorer, but the numbers point elsewhere. His 0.76 points per isolation do not exactly scream elite, and his shooting line from deep - 33.3% from three overall and 23.5% on catch-and-shoot looks - suggests the jumper still isn’t his strongest suit.
What does stand out is his defense. In 36 games last year, Kuminga held opponents to 32.1% shooting from distance.
He also showed he could switch across positions and survive those matchups: guards shot 30.0% from three against him, larger centers were held to 22.2%, and even forwards managed only 36.5% from beyond the arc. That kind of versatility fits cleanly alongside a defense built around Rudy Gobert’s rim deterrence.
Lyles may not have the loudest skill on the list, but he’s built a long career by being exactly what a team needs him to be. Over 10 seasons, he has appeared in 650 games and averaged 18.4 minutes per game.
Sometimes that has meant shooting. Sometimes rebounding.
At other times it has been smart offense or solid defense. The common thread is adaptability.
That flexibility has let him start when asked - he did it in 2019-2020 and 2021-22 with the San Antonio Spurs - and it has also made him comfortable in a bench role or spot duty. However Minnesota uses him, the expectation is that he’ll find a lane and get minutes.
Williams is the biggest unknown of the group. The 10th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft has started 62 games for the Utah Jazz, but he has had a hard time establishing himself in the league. His career shooting mark sits at 41.9%, and his 23.7% three-point shooting is far below what teams want from a wing in today’s game.
He did average two assists per game last season, which at least hints at some passing ability, but his 1.1 turnovers per game also show how messy things can get when he has the ball. On defense, his 6-foot-8 frame and quickness have helped him collect 3.0 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game, but opponents shot 49% when he was the primary defender and 40.1% from three. The shot contests did not always land.
Still, there’s a reason Minnesota is willing to take the swing. Williams is only 21, and he arrives as a former lottery pick at no cost this offseason. For a team that doesn’t have a ton of young assets, that kind of flyer is worth taking.
Evans comes in with a different reputation altogether. At Duke, he was known as a shot maker and a microwave, the type of player who could come off the bench and deliver in big moments. But when he was drafted, he told reporters he was most excited to meet Jaden McDaniels and pick his brain to get better on the defensive side.
That’s the lane that makes the most sense for him. Listed at 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, Evans has the speed to check point guards and the length to bother forwards. On a roster already filled with shot makers, that defensive versatility could be the most intriguing part of his game.
Five new players may not sound like a huge overhaul, but for a team that stressed continuity before last season, it’s still a noticeable shift. Training camp should go a long way toward sorting out where Williams and Evans fit in the long-term picture. Ball, Kuminga, and Lyles, meanwhile, will be fighting for different kinds of roles on a deep, talented Minnesota team that expects to make another run.
In Other News...
Chris Finch Just Framed The Wolves Biggest Playoff Debate
Chris Finch has spent enough time around the playoffs to know the old formulas can stop working fast, and he used that backdrop to frame a bigger conversation about how Minnesota wants to operate going forward. The Timberwolves coach pointed to the limitations of teams that lean too heavily on one ball-dominant creator, then tied that lesson to the kind of roster balance he believes gives a team a better chance when the games tighten in May.
Minnesota, in Finchs view, is moving toward a more layered attack instead of asking one player to carry every possession. With LaMelo Ball in the mix, the Wolves can ease Anthony Edwards into more of a scoring role and spread the decision-making around, which fits Finchs bigger point about depth and interchangeable pieces. The question now is whether that approach can give Minnesota the kind of playoff edge so many star-driven teams spend years chasing. [Read more 🡒]
Rob Dillingham Faces The Same Problem Timberwolves Fans Know Well
Rob Dillinghams path has taken another turn, and it comes with a familiar kind of challenge for Timberwolves fans who have watched him fight for a foothold at the NBA level. After struggling to secure consistent playing time in Minnesota and then again in Chicago, the young guard has now landed in Charlotte, where the opportunity looks fresh but the competition for minutes does not.
The Hornets already have a crowded backcourt, and Dillingham is walking into a situation where every possession will matter. Questions about his shooting, his physicality and how much overall impact he can make have followed him from stop to stop, and now the pressure shifts to proving he can carve out a role before the guard rotation closes in around him. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Camp Battle Could Shake Up Minnesotas Back-End Roster
The Timberwolves have quietly filled out their training camp roster with a trio of newcomers in Norchad Omier, Drew Timme and KJ Martin, giving the front office a few more names to sort through as the season approaches. Omier and Timme come in as undrafted players with G League and limited NBA experience, while Martin brings the kind of prior NBA background that can make a back-end roster spot a little more interesting than it first appears.
Minnesota is looking at all of that talent in the context of a broader camp group that also includes additions like LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga, which should make for a more crowded evaluation process than usual. The real intrigue is how the Wolves sort the depth chart once the competition settles in, especially with the kind of two-way opening that can turn an overlooked camp invite into a real chance to stay. [Read more 🡒]