Don’t crown Minnesota Timberwolves Jaden McDaniels as a starter just yet

The Minnesota Timberwolves roster boasts a great deal of talent, perhaps the most talent that the franchise has ever held on its entire roster throughout its history. But we’ve made some preliminary assumptions about the team, and its roster, over the front office roster transactions, and filled in the open slots.

But now, having seen the roster and weighed the intent of the team, I think we may have jumped the gun a bit. The Minnesota Timberwolves will clearly start both D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards in the backcourt.  The team will definitely emphasize Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns in the frontcourt.

But the lynchpin of the team’s starting five, small forward, is anything but a slam dunk right now. We originally anticipated that young Jaden McDaniels would hold the Timberwolves starting spot. But after a bit of review, ‘Slo-Mo’ Kyle Anderson may be better suited to start for the Timberwolves.

Let’s revisit the team’s depth chart:

• Player                             Posn        Ht                Wt                       Age     Exp

1. D’Angelo Russell         PG1           6-foot-4   198-pounds      26       7
   Jordan McLaughlin      PG2           5-foot-11 198-pounds     26       3
   Austin Rivers                PG3           6-foot-4    200-pounds    30       10
2. Anthony Edwards       SG1           6-foot-5   225-pounds      25        2
   Jaylen Nowell               SG2           6-foot-4   200-pounds      23        3
   Bryn Forbes                  SG3           6-foot-2   190-pounds      29        6
3. Jaden McDaniels         SF1           6-foot-9    200-pounds      21        2
   Kyle Anderson             SF2           6-foot-9    230-pounds      28        8
   Wendell Moore Jr.       SF3           6-foot-4   198-pounds       26        7
4. Karl-Anthony Towns  PF1           6-foot-11 248-pounds     26        7
   Taurean Prince             PF2           6-foot-7   220-pounds      28        6
   Josh Minott                   PF3           6-foot-8    205-pounds     19       R
5. Rudy Gobert                 C1              7-foot-1   245-pounds      30        9
   Naz Reid                        C2              6-foot-9   250-pounds      22        3
   Nathan Knight             C3              6-foot-10  253-pounds     24        2

Two Way contracts

• Player                           Posn         Ht                Wt                     Age     Exp
  Eric Paschall                F                6-foot-6   255-pounds     25        3
  A.J. Lawson                  SG             6-foot-6   177-pounds     22        1

Training Camp/Exhibit 10, Exhibit 9 (so far, Aug 11, 2022)

• Player                        Posn        Ht               Wt                      Age      Exp
  C.J. Elleby                  SF             6-foot-6   200-pounds     22        2

It is pretty clear that the majority of the Timberwolves’ starting lineup will rely upon seasoned NBA veterans. While the Timberwolves certainly cannot go wrong with either Kyle Anderson or Jaden McDaniels in the starting five, let’s revisit some statistical production:

Timberwolves Roster: Kyle Anderson vs. Jaden McDaniels

Kyle Anderson is an NBA veteran who has broad experience in the regular-season competition, as well as that found in the NBA playoffs. Over the course of his eight-season career, he has given his team great defense, dependable offense, and the versatility to defend almost any position in the NBA. Having played multiple years for the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies, Slo-Mo is a glue-type player who does well at almost everything an NBA team needs.

Jaden McDaniels is a young NBA player who continues to grow into his NBA role. He is also incredible on defense, has a good but sporadic offense, but lacks the NBA fundamentals that power the entire roster through a game. McDaniels is a bit of an endpoint in ball movement, coming in on the bottom tier of assists for an NBA small forward.  With the Timberwolves starting five including Gobert, Towns, and Edwards, the Timberwolves will need a small forward who either has a clean open shot or can deliver the basketball to a player who is open.

I’m not suggesting that McDaniels will not grow into a starter. But I’m retracting my presumption that he will start for the Timberwolves this season. Don’t crown Minnesota Timberwolves Jaden McDaniels as a starter just yet. I think Kyle Anderson may start to open the 2022-23 NBA season for the team.