Which players on the Timberwolves roster will be a part of their regular rotation, and what will their roles be?
STARTERS
PG D’Angelo Russell
SG Anthony Edwards
SF Jaden McDaniels
PF Karl-Anthony Towns
C Rudy Gobert
BENCH ROTATION
Kyle Anderson
Taurean Prince
Naz Reid
Austin Rivers
DEEP BENCH – VETERANS
Bryn Forbes
Nathan Knight
Jordan McLaughlin
Jaylen Nowell
Eric Paschall
DEEP BENCH – DEVELOPING YOUTH
AJ Lawson
Josh Minott
Wendell Moore
LIKELY TO BE WAIVED
PJ Dozier
CJ Elleby
Luka Garza
POSITION BATTLES
With the acquisition of Rudy Gobert, the Timberwolves have solidified their starting lineup – what’s left to determine is who will be the main reserves. The only real certainty is that none of the T’Wolves young talent (AJ Lawson, Josh Minott, and Wendell Moore) will be playing significant minutes. The team expects to be a contender as will rely on veterans to spell the starters. After trading a big chunk of their bench in the deal for Gobert, they replenished the roster through free agency. Players like Kyle Anderson, Bryn Forbes, Austin Rivers, and Eric Paschall will compete with holdovers such as Taurean Prince, Jaylen Nowell, Jordan McLaughlin, and Naz Reid for minutes. The real logjam is at the wing positions. Anderson provides playmaking and a team-oriented style with a high basketball IQ, Prince provides scoring, Nowell is a threat form outside who can space the floor, and McLaughlin is a tenacious defender. They’ll probably be alternated based on matchups and whoever has the hot hand, since none has ever been able to provide their team with the type of consistent performance that would cement them in their role.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
All eyes will be on Gobert. The team sacrificed significant future assets and their flexibility to acquire him. On paper, Towns and Gobert complement each other well and create a nightmare matchup against most teams. The team’s hope is that having different pieces around Gobert will result in a better playoff performance and enable the team to better avoid matchups that would force him off the floor.
With Patrick Beverley gone, D’Angelo Russell will need to increase his focus on the defensive end. New backups Forbes and Rivers cannot defend like Beverley but they will provide a scoring threat that he didn’t. The presence of Anderson also provides a playmaking option at forward that the team did not have last year and would allow the team to field a big lineup that few teams can match up against.