The Minnesota Timberwolves spent the offseason making the kind of moves that change the shape of a roster in a hurry. Julius Randle is gone, shipped east in what the source describes as a pure salary dump. LaMelo Ball is in, giving Minnesota a new answer at point guard and, in theory, easing the pressure that kept piling up on Anthony Edwards whenever traps and double teams came his way.
That’s the upside. The problem is what those changes leave behind.
The Wolves may have solved one set of issues, but they’ve created another by pushing players into spots that may not fit them nearly as well. The biggest concern starts with Jaden McDaniels, one of the league’s best on-ball stoppers and a player who earned All-Defense honors two years ago after another season that ended with a huge defensive showing against Jamal Murray. Minnesota has long leaned on McDaniels as part of a perimeter group that can throw wave after wave of physicality at opposing wings and guards.
That strength mattered in the playoffs. With Rudy Gobert anchoring the defense, McDaniels and Edwards together posted a 111 defensive rating last postseason.
When Gobert was on the floor without McDaniels and Edwards, that number jumped to 119. The regular season was more uneven, but the playoff version of this team worked because those pieces could all be on the floor together and make life miserable on the perimeter.
Moving McDaniels to power forward could chip away at that edge.
The fit gets even trickier with Ayo Dosunmu. He’s a good defender, but not the same kind of weapon as the Edwards-McDaniels pairing at its best. Once Dosunmu is in the starting group, the questions shift fast: who handles the top perimeter assignment every night, and does this become the season Edwards has to grow into a true elite two-way player while cleaning up the off-ball issues that have lingered?
That’s one concern. The other is what happens to the bench if Dosunmu leaves it.
When Dosunmu signed his five-year, $125 million extension, the source’s reaction was that it looked like ideal value for a premium NBA sixth man. He was supposed to be the kind of player who could thrive in a bigger reserve role after a strong second half helped the Wolves build a real identity off the bench. That second unit had been missing something before, and Dosunmu helped give it shape.
Now, with Reid headed to Charlotte, Dosunmu looks like the leading candidate to move into the starting lineup alongside McDaniels and Edwards. If that happens, Minnesota’s reserve group loses the player who could have been the engine for one of the league’s most dangerous benches.
That bench still has pieces. Dosunmu previously formed the “Twin Turbos” backcourt with Bones Hyland, and the two brought serious pace.
If Dosunmu stayed in that role, Terrence Shannon Jr. would also be in the mix after his own mini-breakout in last season’s playoffs, and a young rim-runner like Joan Beringer would have a clear job with that group. Even without Donte DiVincenzo entering the season, the second unit would have a defined identity.
Instead, Dosunmu may be asked to do something else entirely: take on more wing defense from the point of attack, despite being a little undersized for the job.
The numbers from last season weren’t especially encouraging. In 281 minutes together, McDaniels and Dosunmu posted a -6 net rating and a 117 defensive rating.
Add Edwards to that mix, and the trio finished at -4 in net rating with a 121 defensive rating. Those lineups also come with rebounding concerns because of their size.
There isn’t a perfect fix here. NBA lineups always come with tradeoffs, and Minnesota’s roster is no exception.
But if the Wolves open the season and quickly find that too many players are being asked to live outside their best roles, the growing pains could be real. There’s plenty of talent in the group.
The question is whether the fit lets it all show.
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Timberwolves Still Have A Frontcourt Hole But One Fix Changes Everything
The Timberwolves are still staring at a frontcourt question as the roster comes into focus, with power forward shaping up as the clearest soft spot on the depth chart. Jaden McDaniels and Trey Lyles are the only forwards mentioned in the mix, which leaves Minnesota likely leaning on either a veteran addition or a patchwork rotation to get through the position.
Even so, this is not the same kind of roster alarm it would have been a year ago. The team already solved its bigger problem by bringing in LaMelo Ball, a move expected to lift the guard play in a major way, and that changes the level of urgency everywhere else. Power forward still matters, but in Minnesotas view it no longer carries the same weight the point guard issue once did. [Read more 🡒]
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Evans will have to show more than flashes if he wants to crack the lineup early. His shooting was a concern in summer league, and the Timberwolves are going to keep leaning on their established guards and wings unless the rookie starts separating himself with better efficiency and enough versatility to make the staff find a place for him. [Read more 🡒]