The Minnesota Timberwolves can lean on a strong top six, but the questions start almost immediately after that.
At the front of the line are the starting five and Ayo Dosunmu, a group that gives Minnesota real upside because so few teams can match that kind of talent concentrated at the top. Beyond that, though, things get murkier. Joan Beringer looks like the likely seventh man, but there’s still plenty of room for bumps as he settles into a full-time role.
That uncertainty has been the lingering issue all preseason: nobody has really separated as the reliable second scorer off the bench.
Last season’s reserve group never really solved that problem, even with Naz Reid handling a lot of the sixth-man work. The Timberwolves did improve after adding Dosunmu from the Chicago Bulls, but the bench still wasn’t close to being one of the league’s better units.
Reid is now with the Charlotte Hornets, which only raises the importance of Dosunmu settling in quickly. Even so, Minnesota still doesn’t have an obvious candidate to give them 8-10 points a night behind him.
There are scoring options in the group, just not many proven ones. Beringer fits the mold of a classic rim runner who should pick up a couple easy baskets each game, maybe three if things break right. But he turns 20 in November, and the foul issues that showed up in limited action last season have carried into this preseason.
Terrence Shannon Jr. has a scorer’s game, but it works best when he’s running the show. The preseason hasn’t offered much evidence that he’ll be able to do that while sharing the floor with the starters, and there doesn’t seem to be a regular-season setup that makes him the lead ball handler.
Bones Hyland has had some productive preseason stretches, but he followed that with a two-point game in Wednesday’s penultimate contest. He also was out of the rotation in last year’s playoffs. He’s only 26, but his thin frame makes it tough to imagine much more room for growth against the kind of more physical defenses that show up in the postseason.
After those names, the options thin out fast. Chris Finch will probably use more than eight players, but even if Trey Lyles, Cody Williams, or Jaylen Clark gets minutes, those runouts may be brief. Zyon Pullin is another player worth keeping an eye on, though he’s on a two-way deal rather than a standard contract.
For all the concern about the depth chart, Minnesota fans can at least point to Tim Connelly’s track record. He has never been afraid to make a move if he thinks it helps the team, and last year’s trade deadline deal for Dosunmu went a long way toward patching the bench production that had been lacking outside of Reid.
Still, it would have been better if someone besides Dosunmu used the preseason to make a stronger case for steady regular-season minutes.
That makes next Wednesday’s opener against the Miami Heat an interesting one to watch, especially when Finch starts sorting out the bench rotation.
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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 🡒]
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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 🡒]