If you are wondering what the Minnesota Timberwolves roster for the 2023-2024 NBA season is, wonder no further. The Timberwolves roster, while still allowing for one more player to be added to a standard contract, is already appearing to be far more robust this season.
While there is no such thing as a sure thing in the NBA, the Timberwolves front office clearly was proactive this offseason and made personnel moves that leave no doubt about the team’s goals for this year.
Be better.
With the exception of the Kevin Garnett years, a period of repeatedly appearing in the NBA Playoffs in consecutive seasons, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been locked into a cycle of earning a berth in the NBA Playoffs one season and then falling back to a sub-.500 final record the following year. Well, until the injury-riddled Timberwolves roster managed to scratch and claw their way into the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Timberwolves bar has been raised
Now, the bar has been raised, and the Timberwolves team is seeking a better outcome than a year ago. This is a team that has only gotten as far as Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs. That simply will not do this year.
Even in the face of injury, the Timberwolves roster has gone to great lengths to ensure players are far more versatile this season. With few exceptions, the team has the ability to play SG Nickeil Alexander-Walker at point guard (for a small period of time) or as a small forward as he demonstrated in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. The team has far more versatility and overlap this year.
Will all of this make a difference? Let’s explore the initial Timberwolves depth chart and take a look:
Timberwolves depth chart
The Timberwolves depth chart, or the depth chart for any NBA team, is merely a guide. There are no hard and fast rules over who can end up where in any given rotation. Depending upon how players perform on any given night, who is the opposing team, and which lineups are most effective, the Timberwolves could deploy either a small ball or a tall ball lineup.
And that is the beauty of versatile players. They give the team the ability to transform into the optimal configuration for any given game-time circumstances. So what does the Timberwolves depth chart look like? Let’s examine and discuss:
Timberwolves depth chart
- Point guards: Mike Conley Jr. | Shake Milton | Jordan McLaughlin (Exh 10) Javonte Cooke
- PG Summary: Unlike the start of last season, the Timberwolves have a solid stable of point guards who can facilitate, shoot from the perimeter, and defend the perimeter as well.
- Shooting guards: Anthony Edwards | Nickeil Alexander-Walker | Wendell Moore Jr | (Two-Way) Jaylen Clark
- SG Summary: The Timberwolves have to love their SG depth this year. Led by 22-year-old Anthony Edwards, there is plenty of gritty defense among this group, and they are all young and getting better all the time.
- Small forwards: Jaden McDaniels | Troy Brown Jr. | Leonard Miller
- SF Summary: It’s clear that the Timberwolves have stressed defense in this position this season. But if the Timberwolves are truly going to advance in the NBA Playoffs, this group will need to be the engine. The Timberwolves need perimeter shooting, defense, and many more rebounds.
- Power Forwards: Karl-Anthony Towns | Kyle Anderson | Josh Minott
- PF Summary: The Timberwolves need a healthy KAT to compete this season, but he is not the only player who needs to step up. Young PF Josh Minott must show signs of earning more playing time as well this year.
- Centers: Rudy Gobert | Naz Reid | (Two-Way) Luka Garza
- C Summary: The Timberwolves will interchange centers and power forwards this year, which is exactly how the team rotated last season. While Rudy Gobert remains a starter, the Timberwolves have a pair of exciting young centers behind him who will need more playing time this season.
- Open roster spots – (1) 15-man roster, (1) Two-Way contract
The Timberwolves have reason to be optimistic. The Timberwolves front office was very selective over who was added to the Timberwolves roster, much like someone assembles the image from a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle. Now, the final task is assessing how well this new Timberwolves depth chart might perform this season.
3 reasons why Wolves’ depth is promising
The Minnesota Timberwolves have no reason to apologize for their performance in the 2022-23 NBA season, nor should the front office have any regrets over that blockbuster trade that added All-Pro center Rudy Gobert. Yes, the Timberwolves regressed a bit from the 2021-22 season. But the Timberwolves were badly banged up and yet competed in the NBA playoffs for a second consecutive season.
We recently had the opportunity to view an interview with Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch by NBA Analyst J.J. Redick, and the discussion was very insightful regarding what the team needs to do this season. So what do the Timberwolves need to improve?
Perimeter defense
The Timberwolves may or may not have adequately addressed perimeter defense in theory for last season, but it was glaringly obvious that the Timberwolves’ perimeter defense was little defense whatsoever. The team has been chipping away at upgrading their defense since that opening tipoff from a year ago and may have that puzzle solved this year. If center Rudy Gobert can reclaim his defensive prowess, the Timberwolves will be very tough to score against this season.
Perimeter shooting
While the Timberwolves thought that their roster last season had sufficient perimeter shooting last season, when the season began, the team quickly realized that was not the case. Veterans who were added after the Gobert trade simply failed to deliver even their career averages. This year, I believe that the Timberwolves will not only shoot more accurate three-pointers but will take more three-point shots.
Rebounding
It’s tough to accept the fact that the Timberwolves struggled at the boards last season. But considering that injuries benched Karl-Anthony Towns and Taurean Prince and to a lesser extent Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson. With so many banged-up bigs, the Timberwolves often found themselves depending on younger players in their rotations. This season, the Timberwolves had an eye on rebounding throughout their roster, from top to bottom.
All in all, the Timberwolves front office clearly has a plan in place. Now it’s simply a matter of players staying healthy and playing up to their potential. What is the likely final record of the Minnesota Timberwolves this season? You can check that out by clicking on this link here.
It’s going to be a fun season.