3 Reasons Mike Conley can work in Minnesota

3. Better fit than D’Angelo Russell

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been looking to move off of D’Angelo Russell for some time now. Many fans would point to his disappointing performance in the playoffs last season as the key catalyst to this line of thinking.

But in reality, the Timberwolves’ desire to move on may be rooted more in the players around Russell than in D-Lo himself. Russell is obviously a decent point guard for any team on paper when you look at his numbers. But D’Angelo Russell’s trajectory with this franchise probably began to shift the moment they drafted Anthony Edwards.

With Ant as the Timberwolves’ top offensive option and bona fide franchise star, the need for a scoring point guard is significantly less. With a player like D’Angelo Russell taking as many shots as he does, you are always going to have less chances for your better option in the backcourt.

Putting a player like Mike Conley next to Anthony Edwards instead would have huge potential to maximize Edwards’ game. Not known as a score-first point guard, especially at this stage in his career, Conley would be able to focus much more on running the offense and finding Ant/KAT/Gobert in their spots than on creating offense on his own like Russell does.

As a true pass-first point guard that has contributed to numerous successful playoff teams in the past, putting Mike Conley at the helm of the Timberwolves’ ship could be an excellent option.