The Minnesota Timberwolves’ supposed power forward problem may not be the glaring issue it’s been made out to be.
That’s the message coming from Tim Connelly, who pushed back on the idea that every contender needs a textbook lineup during an appearance on The Jon Krawczynski Show. His point was simple: the NBA is full of imperfect roster builds, and plenty of winning teams are leaning into that reality instead of chasing a clean, old-school fit.
“Every team has (flaws),” Connelly said. “The Knicks just won, and I don’t think they have a traditional point guard.
I’m not sure Oklahoma City has a traditional point guard. The Spurs, they don’t really have a traditional power forward.
You don’t want to compare everything to what’s out there, but I don’t think there’s a team out there with the perfect one, perfect two, perfect three, perfect four, perfect five. It’ll be interesting to see how that position develops and how can we play our style, and make players react and teams react.”
The broader point matters here because Minnesota has spent weeks hearing about its lack of a traditional starting four. Connelly’s stance suggests the Wolves are not rushing to treat that as a crisis, even if he’ll keep working on the roster if it becomes a real need as the season moves forward.
San Antonio offers the clearest comparison. The Spurs made a noticeable jump after moving Harrison Barnes out of the starting group and sliding Julian Champagnie in.
Champagnie is naturally a wing, not a power forward, but the setup works because the Spurs can cover for it with size elsewhere. Stephon Castle gives them a taller guard, and Victor Wembanyama, at 7-foot-4, changes the whole geometry of the lineup.
Minnesota has a similar kind of cushion if it goes in that direction. Whoever starts at power forward would be playing next to Rudy Gobert, who stands over 7 feet tall and remains one of the league’s best rim protectors. LaMelo Ball, at 6-foot-7, is one of the taller guards in the NBA, and Jaden McDaniels is 6-foot-9.
That kind of size around the position is what can make a lineup look less like a mismatch and more like a modern answer. The Wolves still don’t have a settled name at power forward, but the shape of the roster suggests they don’t need a classic one to function.
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