The Minnesota Timberwolves might have finished with a 23-49 record a year ago, but they have a genuinely talented roster.
For a franchise that has seemingly been short on talent at the shooting guard spot, the Wolves suddenly have a talented group of two guards at their disposal, as we saw on a recent ranking of the league’s best 2s.
Minnesota Timberwolves: List ranks two Wolves in top 19 shooting guards
Hoops Hype’s Frank Urbina is in the midst of ranking the 22 best players at each position. He’s already ranked point guards and small forwards, and the Wolves had only one player on the two lists combined.
When it comes to shooting guards, however, the Wolves have one of the most exciting young players in the league, as well as an efficient scorer who is just now entering the prime of his career. Urbina ranked them both inside the top 19.
First, let’s look at the player who very well could jump into the top five or six on this list in the next year.
Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards ranks highly on top SG list
Last year’s No. 1 overall pick got off to a slow start to the season, coming off the bench and failing to find a consistent rhythm when he was on the floor.
The cast of characters around Edwards was ever-evolving as well, and a combination of factors led to a delayed breakout of sorts during his rookie year.
But the final few months of Edwards’ rookie campaign were so impressive that he made a legitimate run at the Rookie of the Year award down the stretch despite ultimately being held off by LaMelo Ball’s complete, consistent season for the Charlotte Hornets that was only interrupted by a late-season injury.
Edwards ranks No. 12 on Urbina’s list, leaning heavily on the mid-March to season’s end stretch of 34 games.
Notable players that Edwards beat out include fellow sophomore Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield, both from the Sacramento Kings, and Philadelphia’s Seth Curry, who ranked all the way down at No. 21. Oh, and one of Edwards’ teammates in Minnesota — more on him in a moment.
Players that Edwards finished behind include Cleveland’s Collin Sexton, who came in at No. 11, and the New York Knicks’ RJ Barrett. Everyone else seemed entirely justified in their rankings, and frankly, No. 12 seems about right for Edwards.
Minnesota Timberwolves’ Malik Beasley cracks the top 22 SGs list
It was a mild surprise that Malik Beasley cracked this list, given his shortened season of just 37 games, but if considering Beasley’s overall production and efficiency, perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise.
In a total of 51 games in a Wolves uniform, Beasley has put up 19.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 44.9 percent from the floor, 40.6 percent on 3-point attempts, and 82.4 percent from the free throw line.
The issue with Beasley has always been defense, as well as a relative lack of playmaking and scoring off the bounce. Now, there’s also the legal issue that saw Beasley suspended for 12 games last year and spend time in jail this past offseason.
As long as Beasley’s available, however, it’s not hard to argue that he’s still a better player than Edwards in a vacuum. Of course, age and upside play into the overall occasion, which is why Edwards ranks seven spots higher than his teammate.
Beasley ranks behind the likes of Hield (No. 15), Detroit Pistons rookie Cade Cunningham (No. 16), Memphis’ Dillon Brooks (No. 17), and Tim Hardaway Jr. of the Dallas Mavericks (No. 18). It’s not hard to argue that Beasley could be as high as No. 15 on this list.
Still, the Wolves having a pair of top-19 shooting guards is impressive. Also, consider how often Edwards may slide up to the small forwards spot this year to allow the duo play together, and it’s easy to get lost in thought about all the offensive firepower that head coach Chris Finch will have at his disposal.