From a roster construction standpoint, last season was a complete nightmare for the Minnesota Timberwolves and, more specifically, Anthony Edwards. Firstly, last season, Edwards was among the most double-teamed players in the league, something that should change with LaMelo Ball. Moreover, Ball upgrades the overall spacing of this team.
If Rudy Gobert is in your starting lineup, you need to have ample spacing around him to have an effective offense, especially in a playoff setting. Putting Julius Randle, who shot 31.5 percent from 3-point range, next to him was never going to work.
Pairing that with Jaden McDaniels, who's been a streaky 3-point shooter his whole career, and Mike Conley, who, while a good outside shooter, had lost any ability to create his own looks from the perimeter, turned into a disaster spacing-wise.
Now, the Wolves' starting lineup has shooting in spades, which will only give Anthony Edwards more freedom to attack the basket and more open looks from three. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if he leads the league in scoring this season.
The new-look roster is primed to maximize Anthony Edwards
Last year, it wasn't a coincidence that the offense ran much more smoothly when Naz Reid was at the four in place of Julius Randle. More shooting and quick decision-making next to a big like Gobert are the key to a successful lineup.
Take last year's lineup (not including DiVincenzo); it was Conley, Edwards, McDaniels, Randle, and Gobert. You're taking out Conley and his 33.7 percent from 3-point range on minimal creation, and in place of that you're adding LaMelo Ball and his 36.5 percent from 3-point range, but on high volume (8.8 attempts per game) and with elite levels of creation.
Then you're replacing a bad 3-point shooter in Randle (31.5 percent), and likely sliding McDaniels to the four and inserting Ayo Dosunmu into the starting lineup. Dosunmu shot a blistering 43.9 percent from three last year, and while some regression may happen, I would bet he still hovers around 40 percent.
All of this shooting not only means that Edwards won't be able to get doubled as much, but it will mean that once he beats his first defender, he won't have the other team's entire roster collapsing on him in the paint
He averaged 28.8 points last season, and call me a homer, but I don't see why he couldn't average around 32 this season with more shooting and playmaking around him. Pair that elite scoring with an elite regular-season record, and Ant-Man could be firmly in the conversation for the 2026-2027 MVP award.
In any event, the Timberwolves new-look roster should benefit Edwards a ton.
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