Is the right PG answer on the Minnesota Timberwolves roster?

Is the answer on the roster?

Ideally, a guard like Mike Conley, prime Kyle Lowry, or 2004 Chauncey Billups would fit on this team the best. The Timberwolves would best benefit from a veteran who is both a bulldog perimeter defender and one whose basketball IQ lets the team set up the complex offensive sets that this high-powered roster has created.

They are pass-first guards finding more joy in executing hit-ahead-passes than dropping off 30-foot three-point bombs. That type of player with few weaknesses isn’t on the roster. With Russell — one that’s not in a slump — you get a combo guard willing to take and make big shots. You don’t get the strongest one-on-one defender but he was a solid team defender last year.

Alternatives yes. Improvement? Not so fast

With McLaughlin, you get a guard who will push the pace and make an extra pass after an extra pass. You’ll never watch Jmac and think “Hey, why did he force that shot?” You get a competitor with limitations on defense but I’d argue his fight can be infectious on teammates.

Kyle Anderson gives you more sturdy defense than either and he’s arguably the best decision-maker with the ball in his hands amongst the three. He’s the worst shooter and disrupts the spacing more than those two but is the trade-off worth it?

We’ll see where Minnesota Timberwolves HC Chris Finch goes but this starting lineup is undoubtedly not working. The five-man lineup of D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Rudy Gobert are a net +/- of (-4.1) in 344 possessions. Changes are on the horizon, one can feel it. But what will they be and will it turn this season around?