Dunking With Wolves
Fansided

A conversation about the Minnesota Timberwolves’ trade deadline

By Brendan Hedtke

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 8: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves greets D'Angelo Russell #0 of the Golden State Warriors during pregame warmups on November 8, 2019 at Target Center 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 Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 8: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves greets D'Angelo Russell #0 of the Golden State Warriors during pregame warmups on November 8, 2019 at Target Center 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 Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Minnesota Timberwolves, James Johnson
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – FEBRUARY 08: James Johnson #16 of the Minnesota Timberwolves defends against the Los Angeles Clippers. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

JB (cont.): I think you hit the nail on the head with RoCo. The thing with Covington is that he is not an elite on-ball defender. He’s unreal off-ball playing up the line or in a free safety type role, similar to what Draymond did during the peak of the Golden State run. But when opposing players on offense get past the first line of defense and have a free run towards KAT at the rim, RoCo couldn’t bail him out every time, or even most of the time they played together on the court.

I think the defense struggling with RoCo had almost more to do with KAT being on the floor than anything Covington was doing, if that makes sense. The defense will not get much better, if it even does, with the new players getting brought in. Hernangomez is generally in the right place at the right time when he’s out there (which is important in today’s game). Beasley is athletic enough where he won’t get dusted by other 2s all the time.

Evan Turner could help the second unit on defense, if he suits up for the Wolves at all. He played well in Portland under Vanterpool and having another guy familiar with what the coaching staff wants will be key. I think the defense gets worse, but not by much.

With the new guys coming in, there obviously will be a learning curve on both ends. What 5-man lineups are you most exciting to see during this new tinkering process?

BH: I tend to agree with you that the defense will get worse, but you’d have to think the offense will be better. The new players all bring some interesting things to the floor. There are some possible lineups that I want to see thrown out there. I think an all shooting lineup would be fun. My vision for that would be Russell, Crabbe, Beasley, Spellman, and Towns. See how the spaced out offense works. We have never had an offensive lineup with that type of firepower from every spot on the floor. The “worst” shooter from that group is Crabbe, who is shooting a career low this year, but is a 38.8% three point shooter for his career.

I would also love to see how a defensive orientated lineup would do around Towns and Russell. Fill out the 2 to 4 positions with Okogie, Culver, and James Johnson. See if the defense can sustain while allowing Russell and Towns to maintain the offensive firepower.

Are there any other lineups that you would like to see? Maybe even some two-man lineups that intrigue you?

I am also intrigued by the possible starting unit that we will see. It is obvious that Russell and Towns will start, but it seems the 2 to 4 spots will be up for grabs. I wonder if Beasley will be used in a bench role to provide scoring from the second unit, but I can see the argument for starting him and playing him with Towns and Russell to see if he fits here long term. Saturday will be telling for how Ryan views this roster, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a number of starting lineups of the course of the next couple weeks.

I am also interested to see what type of role James Johnson has on this team. Will he play the 4 next to Towns or will he be someone that falls out of the rotation to give the younger guys like Spellman and Hernangomez some run. My assumption is Layman will be the starting power forward when he returns from injury, although that assumption could be totally wrong.

Something that I have been wondering since the news broke about Russell coming to Minnesota is, what does Rosas do with the draft picks this summer. I could see them be used to simply draft two players, possibly trade up in the draft by combining both picks, or even trading one pick and a player to acquire another player. I doubt that Rosas has a plan for that right now, as it is still a possibility that the Brooklyn pick doesn’t come this year if they fall out of the playoffs. I trust Rosas will go through every scenario and determine the best course of action going forward. What would you like to see them do? I know you wrote up some insight articles on draft prospects, anyone you are looking for the Timberwolves to target come June?

JB: I think the starting five has to be…

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