The Minnesota Timberwolves roster certainly has changed, hasn’t it? A year ago, the team was a bit undersized, or at least it felt a bit ‘smallish’ at times. Of course, the team’s big man was 6-foot-11 center Karl Anthony Towns. But behind him was 6-foot-9 backup center, Naz Reid. Power forward Nathan Knight tipped the ruler at 6-foot-10, but he played in 37 games. The Timberwolves added C Greg Monroe, but he appeared in just four regular games, and one playoff appearance.
For the 2022-23 NBA season, the team added 7-foot-1 center Rudy Gobert, which changed their size scaling from undersized to flirting with a Tall Ball roster. But the Timberwolves roster has subtlely improved from top to bottom.
But the escalation of the number of bigger bodies means that those players will be doing their thing in the paint. Rudy Gobert cannot protect the rim from the perimeter. So the Timberwolves must also think about spacing. Perimeter shooting becomes more than a nice option, but rather becomes a mandate. The Timberwolves were one of the more effective teams at sinking the trey in 2021-22, with a 35.8 percent accuracy good enough to be the 12th-ranked NBA team.
But the cost of adding Gobert meant losing both Malik Beasley (37.3 3P%) and Patrick Beverley (34.2 3P%). So what long-range artillery will the Minnesota Timberwolves turn to this year? Well, that is where the Timberwolves 2022 NBA Draft comes in.
With the 26th pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, the team added a solid perimeter shooter in Duke’s Wendell Moore Jr.
Wendell Moore Jr. made 45% of his corner 3s at Duke this season pic.twitter.com/HZw5iF4Isg
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) June 24, 2022
Moore is an ideal young addition to the Timberwolves roster. As a rookie, he will be that young man whose playing time will be earned in practice, and each practice will help to develop him into a future NBA starter or rotational player.
I love Moore’s energy, as he remains energetic on both sides of the basketball court. He is a solid marksman but will need time to recalibrate that three-pointer from the college game to the NBA. Thankfully, he is just as eager to defend as well.
He is an ideal addition to the Timberwolves roster. Not only will he help unclog the logjam around the basket offensively, but he will add his voice to the team’s chorus line of perimeter defenders. While the team may not have a shut-down defender yet, the hope is that the team will swarm like bees to make any opponent uncomfortable enough to turn the ball over, or attempt a low-percentage shot.
I love what the Minnesota Timberwolves have done with the roster this year. But more than the headliner moves, I love what the team has done at the bottom end of this roster. Not only has the team added solid talent to develop for the future, but many of those same young future players may very likely chip in with valuable minutes this season.
And that is how NBA Championship rosters are built. From the ground up.