III: Minnesota Timberwolves must fill an additional roster slot
Without Taurean Prince, the Timberwolves’ depth chart has been weakened: Veteran leadership, versatility on both ends of the basketball court, and perhaps worst of all, three-point shooting. Of course, the roster is still quite fluid, as there are several decisions remaining to be made.
So how will the Timberwolves’ depth chart fill? Well, I would be very surprised if the team does not bring back surprising wing Nickeil Alexander-Walker in some capacity. NAW was a surprisingly effective starter in the NBA Playoffs for the Timberwolves, with only two dozen or so games under his belt.
Timberwolves roster remains a mystery
The biggest ‘void’ in the Timberwolves’ current depth chart is at the backup point guard role. Filling that vacancy will require surgical precision for the Timberwolves, as the optimal candidate must satisfy the following criteria:
- Be young enough to parallel the career of SG Anthony Edwards
- Be versatile enough to play and defend both the 1 and 2
- Be able to back up veteran PG Mike Conley Jr.
- Have enough upside to start at the point guard position
- Have a solid perimeter shot
- Better than average upside
While that is possible, finding this player takes on a bit of a scavenger hunt, as there is any number of teams who are scrambling to identify and add a similarly described player to their own roster.
With all of the variables that have yet to be determined for the overall Timberwolves roster, questions remain and will likely remain until we get a full roster to assess and analyze, which could be a month or more away.