Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch has spoken about expanding his rotation this offseason. If you watched the team throughout the playoffs, they strictly played three guys off their bench (not including garbage time) for much of their run. Those were Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Donte DiVincenzo, and Naz Reid. Terrence Shannon Jr. was eventually given time as well, but that wasn’t until Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.
Of course, Alexander-Walker has since signed with the Hawks this offseason. There’s no new pieces on the roster that clearly deserve a spot in the team’s rotation. So an expanded rotation would mean that some of the younger players that weren’t counted on when it mattered most will need to step up. Are they ready?
Three young players poised for larger roles
With Alexander-Walker exiting for Atlanta (as well as Mike Conley soon turning 38 years old), fans have pointed to three players who will likely have expanded roles. Those are second-year players Shannon Jr. and Rob Dillingham, as well as third-year player Jaylen Clark.
The three combined to appear in just 121 regular season outings last season, and none averaged more than 13.1 minutes (Clark). Dillingham played a total of just 26 minutes in the postseason, and Clark had just two more. Prior to their last three playoff games, Shannon Jr. had just 20 minutes played.
Clearly, that isn’t a large enough sample size to have substantive evidence that any of the three could jump into larger roles for a team with championship aspirations.
Not many new additions to team
The Timberwolves have not signed an outside free agent to a standard contract. Maybe Johnny Juzang can make the roster, but his deal is non-guaranteed. Even if he makes the team for opening night, it would be a surprise seeing him in the rotation barring injuries.
The team has two rookies in centers Joan Beringer (17th pick) and Rocco Zikarsky (45th pick). Maybe Beringer will play spot minutes, but he will be only 19 years old for most of the season (birthday is November 6). Zikarsky is only 19 as well (now on a two-way contract). Expectations of either playing a large role this season seem unrealistic.
So the onus is placed on Dillingham, Shannon Jr., and Clark to play larger roles without Alexander-Walker, as well as helping to further decrease Conley’s minutes. Will all, none, or some of them be up for the challenge?