The Minnesota Timberwolves came into the 2025-26 season with continuity, depth, and experience - the kind of ingredients that typically cook up a legitimate title contender. After back-to-back trips to the Western Conference Finals and a quiet offseason from President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly, the message was clear: the Wolves believed the roster as constructed could take the next step.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker was the lone rotation player from last year’s squad not returning, but even with his departure, Minnesota looked like one of the deeper teams in the league. They brought back a core led by Anthony Edwards - fresh off his second straight All-NBA season - and surrounded him with a mix of veteran talent and intriguing young pieces.
Julius Randle entered his second year in Minnesota. Rudy Gobert remained the defensive anchor.
Jaden McDaniels was taking a leap offensively. Donte DiVincenzo had found his rhythm.
Naz Reid was once again in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation. And young talents like Jaylen Clark, Rob Dillingham, and Terrence Shannon Jr. were expected to take steps forward.
But now, 27 games in, the Wolves are stuck in a familiar spot - talented, but flawed. After a disappointing loss to an injury-depleted Memphis squad, Minnesota finds itself once again peering into the contender circle from the outside. And one glaring issue is holding them back: the bench.
Let’s start with the good. Naz Reid continues to be a spark plug off the bench, even if it took him a few weeks to get rolling.
After signing a hefty new contract in the offseason, Reid struggled out of the gate - averaging just 10.9 points per game on 32.3% shooting from deep over the first 12 games. His defense, especially when paired with Julius Randle and without Gobert behind him, was a step slow.
But Reid has bounced back in a big way, averaging 16.4 points while hitting 41.8% from three over the last 15 contests. He’s back to being the offensive weapon the Wolves need off the pine.
The problem? Outside of Reid, the Wolves’ bench has offered little else in the way of scoring or consistency.
Minnesota ranks 27th in the NBA in bench scoring, averaging just 31.7 points per game - and Reid is responsible for nearly half of that. The rest of the second unit has struggled to contribute.
Mike Conley, now 38, is averaging a career-low 5.3 points per game. Terrence Shannon Jr. has yet to make the leap fans were hoping for, posting just 4.8 points per night.
Jaylen Clark sits at 4.4. And Rob Dillingham, still trying to find his footing in Year 2, is contributing just 3.9.
The ripple effect of moving DiVincenzo into the starting lineup to cover for a diminished Conley has been significant. It’s thinned out the second unit and forced head coach Chris Finch to lean heavily on his starters.
Minnesota currently ranks 25th in the league in bench minutes. For context, they were 19th in that category last season, 21st the year before, and 14th in 2022-23.
The trend is heading in the wrong direction for a team that needs to preserve its top guys for the long haul.
Make no mistake - the starting five is doing its job. The preferred lineup of Edwards, Randle, McDaniels, DiVincenzo, and Gobert boasts a +12.7 net rating.
That’s elite. If that group were a full team, they’d have the second-best offense and second-best defense in the league.
But they can’t play 48 minutes a night, and the drop-off when the bench checks in is stark.
The Wolves’ inability to find reliable production from their reserves has become a recurring issue - and one Finch is clearly aware of. Conley, despite his leadership and occasional flashes of vintage playmaking, is no longer equipped to carry a heavy load.
He’s shooting just 36.3% from the field and playing 19 minutes per game - more out of necessity than choice. Ideally, he’d be the third point guard behind DiVincenzo and Dillingham, but the latter hasn’t developed quickly enough to earn that trust.
Dillingham’s situation is a classic case of a young guard caught between playing it safe and trying to prove himself. He’s still logging just 10.5 minutes per game - the same as his rookie season - and his shooting reflects that hesitancy.
He’s hitting just 30.4% from three and 36.2% overall. There are flashes of potential, no doubt, but they’re often followed by moments where he tries to do too much or disappears entirely.
Finch recently challenged his young players, saying if you’re only getting 10 minutes, you better dominate those 10. So far, Dillingham isn’t.
Terrence Shannon Jr., meanwhile, has regressed after a promising rookie campaign. He’s scored in double figures just three times this season.
While his three-point shot has improved, he’s shooting just 40% from inside the arc. His quickness makes him a threat in transition, but defensively, he’s a step behind - and that’s led to Finch limiting his minutes in key situations.
Jaylen Clark is almost the inverse. He’s a defensive pest but doesn’t provide much on the offensive end.
He’s often parked in the corner like early-career Jaden McDaniels, left alone by defenses who don’t fear his shot. Then there’s Joan Beringer, who’s just 19 and now in the G League.
Leonard Miller has yet to earn meaningful minutes, and Joe Ingles is essentially an emergency option for late-game inbound plays.
The numbers don’t lie. Every regular bench player on the Wolves has a negative on/off net rating.
That means when they’re on the floor, the team is losing ground - and often can’t recover. We saw it firsthand against Memphis: the starters built a lead, the bench gave it away, and the team couldn’t claw back.
This isn’t a new problem, but it’s becoming a more urgent one. The Wolves have the top-end talent to compete with anyone. But if they want to break into that top tier of Western Conference contenders, they need more from their bench - and they need it soon.
Whether it’s internal development, a rotation shakeup, or a move at the trade deadline, something has to give. Because right now, Minnesota’s second unit is the weak link in an otherwise strong chain - and in a stacked Western Conference, that might be the difference between a deep playoff run and another early exit.