Timberwolves start, bench, cut: Anthony Edwards, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Wendell Moore

While the Minnesota Timberwolves have gotten a lot of press over their frontcourt investments, we cannot ignore the glut of shooting guards currently on the Timberwolves roster. If everyone who could play at shooting guard would appear on the Timberwolves depth chart at the shooting guard position, the team conceivably would have more than six players to choose from.

Thankfully, the versatility of players on the Timberwolves roster allows the team to display just four shooting guards on the roster. But even four is a bit heavy for a team that still has one open slot on their 15-man roster.

Start, Bench, Cut: Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guards

Start: Anthony Edwards

Probably the easiest decision about the Minnesota Timberwolves roster this season, Anthony Edwards is the ipso facto starter for any position on the Timberwolves depth chart, and the starting shooting guard for virtually any NBA team this season. At just 22 years old, Anthony Edwards continues to develop at a rapid pace for the Timberwolves, and not just as one of the top scorers in the league.

Edwards can apply smothering defense as well, a fact that gets far too little attention in the national NBA media. It’s that duality that makes Edwards so vital for the Timberwolves this season. If he is off on the offensive half of the basketball court (all players experience that off night), he can simply amp up his defensive effort to ensure a win.

Anthony Edwards is the Timberwolves’ pace car

If there is one thing that is quite certain about the Minnesota Timberwolves this season, it’s the fact that the team has focused on giving Anthony Edwards an optimal Timberwolves roster to amplify his impact this season.  What does that mean?

For starters, the Timberwolves roster has loaded up on perimeter shooters. That will allow plenty of spacing for Edwards to roam over the basketball court to pick his spots and shots. And he will need plenty of room to roam, as he is rapidly ascending to more than the best players on the Timberwolves roster, but one of the best players in the NBA as a whole.

Even as Edwards is most known for his ability to put points on the scoreboard, he is just as proficient at preventing opposing teams from doing so. It’s that ability to change the outcome of NBA games in either half of the basketball court that truly dictates his role for the Timberwolves.