The Minnesota Timberwolves have built a nearly perfect roster. Nevertheless, one clear concern is their bench depth. Ayo Dosunmu is an elite super-sub, but outside of him, the Wolves don't have trustworthy bench players. Joan Beringer, Terrence Shannon Jr., and Bones Hyland are all talented but unproven players. Jaylen Clark is offensively limited, and the ceiling of a veteran Trey Lyles is low.
There's some clear volatility with this group, and they'll need at least two quality bench contributors outside of Ayo to reach their ultimate ceiling.
Fortunately, all signs point to Donte DiVincenzo returning from his Achilles injury at some point this season. Chris Finch has described his return as 'pretty likely', and DiVincenzo has openly discussed returning during the season. While no official timetable has been set, based on Jayson Tatum's recovery, we could see Donte back on the court around the All-Star break.
DiVincenzo's skill set also bodes well for his return, as he's not overly reliant on athleticism and is a fantastic spot-up shooter. Even if he's not at 100 percent, DiVincenzo's return would give the Timberwolves' bench a massive boost, and the concerns about their bench wouldn't be nearly as severe.
DiVincenzo is also an ideal fit alongside the Wolves' established talent thanks to his spot-up shooting. Having a player we know can thrive in a complementary role would be a huge boon to the Wolves' uncertain bench, and DiVincenzo will help them double down on their 3-point shooting identity.
Donte DiVincenzo will help the Timberwolves' bench immensely
Worst-case scenario, we see something similar to last season where the young players struggle to scale up, and the Wolves look like an incredibly thin team. Until trading for Ayo in the middle of last season, Naz Reid was the team's only source of consistent bench scoring. However, after the Dosunmu trade, Minnesota's bench concerns lessened. Sure, they weren't a great bench, but it was far from a total disaster.
Now, there's a chance that Dosunmu is the only consistent bench player, and DiVincenzo gives them a boost as a de facto trade deadline addition. In this case, DiVincenzo could save the Timberwolves' bench from being a major problem.
And there's also a much more exciting possibility, where the young players hit. What if Beringer is ready to be a quality backup big man? What if Shannon and Hyland develop more consistency? If you are adding DiVincenzo into that version of the Wolves' bench, they could have one of the deepest teams in the league.
Even in a middle-ground scenario where simply one of these bench players truly hits on a consistent level, the Wolves would have eight quality players—that's all they'd need to make a title run.
Frankly, this feels like the most realistic scenario to me. I have faith that Beringer will develop into a quality backup even if there are some road bumps this season. Conversely, I don't trust Shannon to either scale up on the ball or to become a complementary weapon, and I have concerns about Hyland's inconsistencies.
Regardless, having eight quality rotation players who you can count on every night is a massive advantage, and that's what DiVincenzo can give the Timberwolves if just one of these unproven players grows.
Ultimately, whatever happens with the rest of Minnesota's bench, DiVincenzo should provide a major boost.
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