Bones Hyland was nearly out of the league last offseason before he ultimately earned the Minnesota Timberwolves' final standard roster spot in September. At the time, he looked like a depth piece, but as Rob Dillingham struggled, Hyland earned a role, and he never looked back.
Hyland's energy and scoring provided the Timberwolves' bench unit with a major spark. Unfortunately, Hyland's feel-good season ended in the playoffs, where he fell out of the Timberwolves' rotation. He re-signed on a veteran minimum deal in the offseason.
While Hyland's contract is good value, based on his regular-season play alone, it's unclear if he's a playoff-worthy player. And frankly, his regular-season role is up in the air with the Timberwolves' new-look roster.
The Timberwolves' bench makes Bones Hyland's role uncertain
Jonathan Kuminga's arrival slides Ayo Dosunmu into a super-sub role. Ayo gives the Timberwolves an established bench scorer, a void they had since they traded Naz Reid. However, bringing him off also lessens the need for extra perimeter shot creation off the bench. Extra guard play already became less important after the LaMelo Ball trade.
After the playoffs, Terrence Shannon Jr. seems poised for more regular minutes, which could come at Hyland's expense. Joan Beringer obviously plays a different position, but he'll take up significant bench minutes as Rudy Gobert's primary backup. Suddenly, Hyland is competing for minutes with Jaylen Clark as the ninth man. Given Clark's stellar defense and low-usage style of play, he could get the edge, especially since the Wolves could use another wing off the bench. The Wolves' lack of frontcourt depth could catapult Trey Lyles into a bigger role.
If Cody Williams shows promise, they could turn to him off the bench instead of Hyland, especially given their roster needs. What about Donte DiVincenzo if and when he returns? Furthermore, Chris Finch's typical affinity for tighter rotations doesn't bode well for Hyland.
None of this is to say that Bones will certainly get cut from the rotation. His pace and shot creation are valuable skills. Plus, Hyland has a ton of synergy with his "Twin Turbo" Dosunmu. Despite Shannon's solid playoffs, his minutes fluctuated last season, and he may fall out of the rotation if he struggles early on, opening up opportunities for Hyland.
These factors could allow Hyland to be one of the Timberwolves' most important bench players again. Regardless, Hyland is an inherently erratic scorer, and the Timberwolves have other options to turn to if he struggles, or they could simply prioritize other skill sets.
Hyland needs to prove that he can contribute in a playoff setting
I hate to sound negative, but even if Hyland shows out in the regular season (which is possible), after last season, I'll always have concerns about his playoff viability.
He fights on defense, but the reality is that he's 169 pounds. In the playoffs, matchup hunting becomes more prevalent, and that makes things harder for Hyland.
Carving out a playoff rotation role is possible despite these size deficiencies. The real problem for Hyland was that his scoring abilities disappeared. In the playoffs, he averaged 4.6 points on 30 percent shooting from the field, a significant departure from 8.5 points and 45.3 percent shooting from the field in the regular season.
Hyland is fun to watch when he's on. Still, he's inherently an inconsistent player, and in high-leverage situations, it's unclear if he can be trusted. Part of the problem is that Bones' impact is heavily tied to scoring, since he isn't a high-level playmaker or defender.
The number one area of growth Hyland has to show is more consistency. Hyland might not make some massive scoring leap. However, if he can significantly cut back on the nights where he simply can't buy a bucket, that would be a game-changer.
Will there be enough opportunity for Bones to work through these issues in the regular season? That's the major question, and considering the Wolves' number of perimeter players, I'm not sure that he'll be given this luxury.
Hyland exceeded any reasonable expectations last season, and maybe he'll blossom into a high-end bench player this season. Nevertheless, Hyland's path to earning regular minutes isn't very smooth, and even after a strong regular season, he could find himself in a familiar spot come playoff time.
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