Minnesota Timberwolves: Jake Layman is key to Wolves’ success

Jake Layman is a make-or-break player for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

All eyes will be on Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell next season, and rightfully so, but Minnesota Timberwolves fans should be looking closely at Jake Layman.

Layman is one of the lesser-known players on the Timberwolves roster. Due to injury, the fourth-year forward out of Maryland only played 23 games in his first season in a Wolves uniform but was quietly one of the most important players on the roster.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Jake Layman is key to Wolves’ success

Layman helped lead the Timberwolves to a hot start to begin the season; the Wolves were 8-6 through the first 14 games. Layman averaged 10.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and nearly an assist, a steal, and a block per game during this stretch.

A toe injury sidelined Layman for 41 consecutive games and the Wolves’ season began to tank shortly after. Minnesota went 8-33 during that span with two losing streaks of 11 games or more.

While some of Minnesota’s misery was due to injuries to Karl-Anthony Towns and a thin lineup relying on several G League call-ups to man the fort, Layman proved he is an important cog in the Wolves machine moving forward.

Layman is a Swiss Army knife-type of plug-and-play forward who can impact the game in several ways.

He’s a 6-foot-8, athletic wing who can get to the basket with ease.

Layman can also stroke the three in bunches, shooting a career-best 33.3 percent from deep this season. It’s a developing shot that should continue to improve.

The former second-round pick was surprisingly one of the most efficient players for the Wolves this season. He had the best net rating of any Wolves player this season with an offensive rating of 106.6 and a defensive rating of 104.6. Layman also led the Wolves in plus/minus.

The interesting question will be how will Layman fits in a brand new lineup with the likes of Towns, D’Angelo Russell, and new addition/restricted free agent Malik Beasley.

Layman only played in 12 games with Towns, and the two had a 6.2 net rating while sharing the court together. That number gets even better with Layman and Russell on the court, improving to a rating of 9.2. Layman and Beasley didn’t have the same success with a -15.4 rating but played a mere 42 minutes together this season.

Assuming the Wolves use Jarrett Culver more on the ball and Josh Okogie fits better as a two-guard, Layman doesn’t have a ton of competition for playing time. Unless the Wolves use their first-round draft pick on someone like Deni Avdija, the Wolves are pretty thin at small forward with just Layman and Kelan Martin listed at the position.

He could even be slotted into the starting lineup next season, possibly alongside Russell, Beasley, Juancho Hernangomez, and Towns.

Layman would be the perfect fit on the wing in this lineup cutting to the basket, or popping to the corner off of a post screen from Towns and draining threes.

He could also be a good candidate for the first or second man off the bench and lend some stability to a young second unit that would include Culver, Naz Reid, Josh Okogie, and likely whomever the Wolves take in the first round.

Layman is in the second year of a three-year, $11.28 million contract, and if he blossoms next season in an expanded role, he could be a trade chip in the future on a team-friendly deal.

Wolves fans are eagerly waiting for the NBA bubble to wrap up the 2019-20 season and move on to next season. That may or may not happen, but if Layman continues to show that he can be an all-around impactful player, the 2020-21 campaign might just be worth the wait.