The Timberwolves gave up something real when they shifted away from the old frontcourt look. Trading Julius Randle and Naz Reid for a perimeter-oriented player in LaMelo Ball changed the shape of the roster, and it left Minnesota with less depth and less of the bruising interior identity it had leaned on before.
But the late offseason addition of Jonathan Kuminga changes the conversation.
Health permitting, Minnesota’s frontcourt defense should not take a step backward. In fact, there’s a strong case that the new trio of Kuminga, Rudy Gobert, and Joan Beringer is better defensively than the Randle-Gobert-Reid group. The Wolves may not always be able to roll out two physical bigs the way they did in previous seasons, but they’ll still have rim protection baked into the lineup more often than not.
Gobert remains the center of it all. He’s still a walking top-10 defense and the kind of elite anchor that wipes away a lot of concerns before they even start. With him patrolling the paint, Minnesota has a foundation most teams would envy.
The real question is how the pieces around him fit now that Randle and Reid are gone. Randle brought size and strength, but he was never a positive defender overall.
He could have moments where his on-ball power showed up, yet he was too often slow to react off the ball, vulnerable to backcuts, and inconsistent rotating. He also barely forced turnovers, and he ranked in the 8th percentile for blocks per 100 possessions per Databallr.
Reid was more active and his effort was never in doubt, but his issues were different. He was being asked to handle rim protection duties that didn’t really suit him.
He had more defensive playmaking than Randle, but he still had trouble with both high-level forwards and bigger centers. He wasn’t particularly switchable, either, which made quicker players a problem.
That’s where Kuminga and Beringer start to make more sense.
Kuminga brings a similar level of physicality to Randle, which matters when he’s matched up with strong forwards. He ranked in the 85th percentile for matchup difficulty per Basketball Index last season, and he’s better at creating turnovers than Randle. He also moves well enough to stay with guards more effectively, something backed by his 86th percentile ranking in perimeter isolation defense.
Beringer may wind up being even more important to what Minnesota is trying to build. He’s only 19, so there’s obvious risk in giving him a meaningful bench job right away.
He’ll almost certainly run into foul trouble, physical battles, and positioning mistakes. Still, he’s a natural rim protector, and that alone gives the Wolves a cleaner answer when Gobert sits.
That matters because Minnesota’s defense fell apart without Gobert on the floor last season. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Wolves were 11.8 points per 100 possessions better defensively with him on the court, a mark that ranked in the 98th percentile.
Beringer doesn’t need to be Gobert. He just needs to provide a real shot-blocking presence, and his freaky athleticism has already shown up in limited NBA minutes.
There will be nights when the Wolves have to get creative. With Kuminga off the floor, they’ll likely lean into unconventional power forward looks, and Jaden McDaniels should spend time in a roamer role that could unlock his defensive playmaking. Minnesota may not always have the raw physicality it used to, but it will have a more coherent frontcourt structure.
That’s the main point here. The Timberwolves’ frontcourt still comes with questions, but the defense in that group looks better than the concerns suggest.
In Other News...
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LaMelo Ball has already been getting a taste of what awaits once the games start counting, and it has not been especially gentle. In recent preseason action, Mikal Bridges and Ausar Thompson both leaned into the kind of physical, on-ball pressure that can make a gifted playmaker work for every inch, and the early returns have been modest enough to keep the conversation going. For Minnesota, it is the sort of matchup detail worth watching closely because Balls touch and creativity are obvious, but so is the challenge that comes when defenders crowd him before he can get comfortable.
His slight frame and occasional trouble finishing through contact are the parts opponents will circle on the scouting report, and there are teams equipped to do something about it. San Antonio and Oklahoma City, in particular, have the kind of length and athleticism that can turn aggressive defense into a night-long problem, and the Wolves know how quickly a talented ballhandler can be pushed off rhythm when pressure keeps coming. The question now is not whether teams will try it, but how often Ball can answer once the real games begin. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Dress Rehearsal Exposed A Problem Fans Cant Ignore
The Timberwolves got most of their regular rotation work in Tuesday nights preseason loss to Detroit, and the early returns offered both encouragement and a few familiar warning signs. Minnesota came out with some offensive rhythm before things unraveled, as turnovers piled up and the Pistons repeatedly found clean looks on the perimeter and in the paint.
For a team trying to sharpen its identity before the games start counting, the defensive slippage was hard to ignore. Detroit shot 57% from the field and dictated too much of the action inside, while Minnesotas core pieces, including Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert, had uneven stretches on both ends. It was the sort of dress rehearsal that can still be useful, but it also left a problem the Wolves will need to clean up fast. [Read more 🡒]
Jonathan Kuminga Gave The Timberwolves Something To Feel Better About
The Timberwolves left a preseason loss to Detroit with more questions than answers on the scoreboard, but Jonathan Kuminga gave them a reason to feel better about where this group can go. In his first stretch with Minnesota after signing a two-year deal, Kuminga scored 16 points on efficient shooting and showed the kind of pace and directness the team wants from him on both ends.
Chris Finch singled out Kumingas quick decision-making, a promising sign for a player still settling into a new role with a new club. Minnesota will need that adjustment to keep moving in the right direction, especially with Kuminga expected to be one of the key starters, and the preseason is already offering an early look at how much his blend of speed and simplicity can matter. [Read more 🡒]