Dunking With Wolves
Fansided

Minnesota Timberwolves: Projecting the roster and guard rotation

By Jack Borman

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 21: President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas and Head Coach Ryan Saunders of the Minnesota Timberwolves pose for a portrait on May 21, 2019 at the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx Courts at Mayo Clinic Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 21: President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas and Head Coach Ryan Saunders of the Minnesota Timberwolves pose for a portrait on May 21, 2019 at the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx Courts at Mayo Clinic Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
Minnesota Timberwolves, Tyrone Wallace
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MARCH 26: Tyrone Wallace #9 of the LA Clippers. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Who’s on the fence?

Jack Borman:

Tyrone Wallace.

The Wolves final roster spot is going to come down to a battle between Wallace and Keita Bates-Diop. Wallace has shown the ability to provide a nice scoring boost of the bench, especially by putting the ball on the deck and getting to the basket.

Unfortunately for Wallace, he really struggles in two key areas that Saunders needs him to be successful in – the pick and roll and transition.

In 62 games for the Clippers last season, Tyrone averaged just 0.59 points per possession (PPP) as the ball handler in the pick-and-roll and an unflattering 0.75 PPP in transition. Those marks rank him in the 12th and 5th percentile, respectively.

Additionally, he shot just 21.1 percent on threes and only 5.5 percent of his points came from made 3-pointers last season.

Given that Bates-Diop was drafted by Minnesota and played for the Summer Wolves in Vegas under Prigioni, he’s got a big advantage over Wallace.

Andrew Ites: 

Tyrone Wallace’s future with the Wolves will depend on whether the organization sees Jarrett Culver as a potential point guard/primary ball-handler.

I have a feeling that Minnesota thinks Culver can develop into that role or else they wouldn’t have spent such a high pick on him.

In that case, Wallace and Culver’s skillsets probably overlap too much for Wallace to have a spot on the 15-man roster.

However, if the Wolves suffer a bunch of injuries at guard like they did last season we could see Wallace in the fold once again.

Ben Beecken:

Tyrone Wallace is more of a combo guard than a true point man. While he still has a shot to make the roster, his relatively small cap hit also makes him the easiest player to waive.

With the Wolves suddenly quite deep on the wing and Culver likely to run some of the second unit’s offense, Wallace is squarely on the fence in terms of making the team. The guess here is that the Wolves try to trade Bates-Diop before the regular season opener. If they fail, Wallace may not make the team.

Home/Timberwolves News