Minnesota Timberwolves: 5 draft prospects to upgrade perimeter defense

Minnesota Timberwolves: 5 draft prospects to upgrade perimeter defense

Devin Vassell

Devin Vassell is one of the best team defenders in this draft.

Yes, he is a solid on-ball defender who can switch on multiple positions, but his real impact comes when he is away from the ball. At 6-foot-7 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, Vassell is an on-ball disruptor and eliminates passing lanes off-ball.

A crucial defensive component that the Timberwolves have historically failed with is their off-ball defense and their weakside rotations. Allowing back-cuts or missing rotations to cut off the rolling screener has been a far too frequent occurrence. These defensive lapses allow easy scores that help opponents quickly build substantial leads.

This area of defense is where Vassell shines. His awareness is impeccable, his timing is ideal, and his length forces turnovers and bothers shots.

Here, we see a great example of Vassell reading and timing his rotation perfectly. As Miami passes out of the pick-and-roll, Vassell’s teammate ultimately leaves his man at the top of the arc, giving him an open path to the rim. Once the Miami big man begins his cut, Vassell starts to make his rotation before the pass happens. This recognition is crucial because it allows Vassell to beat the cutter to the spot before he receives the ball.

Since Vassell is coming from the cutter’s blindside, the cutter doesn’t have time to adjust his shot. Vassell does a perfect job of then staying vertical before blocking the shot.

Again, we see how Vassell does a great job of repositioning himself and using his length to be a robust weakside shot blocker.

Vassell starts the play by fronting his man to deny the post entry pass. The ball gets rotated into the lane where North Carolina looks to have created an easy layup. Instead, Vassell has quickly repositioned himself between his man and the rim. This movement allows him to meet the ball-handler at the rim to deny what should have been an easy layup.

If the Timberwolves decide to draft Devin Vassell, they will be adding a versatile defender who wreaks havoc for opponents with his off-ball defense.