Minnesota Timberwolves: Best-case, worst-case scenario for Josh Okogie

Worst-Case Scenario

Of course, the absolute worst-case is any sort of injury that could potentially stunt his development (see: Justin Patton‘s rookie season). Let’s look beyond that scenario…

Tom Thibodeau has been known to give limited minutes to his bench, and at times has had a reputation for not playing rookies as much as veterans. For Minnesota to get their bench up from off the ground, he will need to play them more minutes, and allow the future of the team to have more playing time.

From what we saw at Las Vegas Summer League, Okogie has the potential to be a great defender, coming against other young players and those trying to make the team.

Could that play simply not transfer when he’s going up against some of the other elite players in the NBA? It’s definitely possible. If he can’t play defense, it may be hard for him to get minutes and thus creates a major roadblock in his career to possibly develop into a player we hope he can be.

Instead Thib’s could look at playing a two-guard lineup with Tyus Jones and Derrick Rose and completely shut him out. At that point he’d be better off developing down in Iowa at the with the G League Wolves alongside last year’s first-round draft pick, the aforementioned Patton.

The worst-case scenario is that Okogie doesn’t get minutes and doesn’t show the defense ability that is expected, surely resulting in virtually no playing time and, potentially, a development stint down in Iowa.