The Timberwolves are off to a slow start at 2-3. Yes, the last two games were played without Anthony Edwards (strained hamstring), and they both were losses. Still, there are some worrisome signs from the team early on, including from their lead guard position.
The Timberwolves' point guard issues
On the latest episode of his podcast, Zach Lowe chatted it up with Mo Dakhil about teams that are better or worse than they thought. When they got to the Timberwolves, Dakhil spoke harshly about the Timberwolves’ point guard issues.
"Their front office is on notice, Dakhil said. We saw this coming in the ball-handling with Mike Conley. Why wasn’t there more preparation with everything that you had? You went and got Rob Dillingham. He’s not cutting it….Conley is old, he’s not what he once was. You knew you needed another ball-handler, Donte DiVincenzo is not that guy."
Other than re-signing a couple key free agents in Naz Reid and Julius Randle, it was a fairly quiet offseason for Tim Connelly and the rest of the front office. That was somewhat expected though as the money wasn’t there to bring in outside free agents.
With the 17th pick, the Timberwolves didn’t address ball-handling, and instead selected Joan Beringer. Turning 19 on November 6, it is known that he is somewhat of a project that will take some time to develop into the eventual Rudy Gobert replacement. Although if the defensive problems that Minnesota has experienced over the first five games continue, perhaps Beringer can find a role as the season progresses.
So the Timberwolves essentially decided to run the point guard rotation back, even re-signing Bones Hyland, who was barely used last season after the team added him in February.
Future trade on deck?
Now 38 years old, Conley can’t put pressure on the defense like he once did. His ability to finish at the rim is in the lower echelon of the league at this point. During their Western Conference finals run last season, Conley shot just 30.8% from the field. With Edwards’ injury, he has re-entered the starting lineup for the last two games.
After selecting him eighth overall in 2024, Dillingham surely never gained the full trust of Chris Finch last season. Sure, many players make that sophomore jump, but that’s not a certainty, and the Timberwolves want to win now. Dillingham’s season started with a DNP-CD, and while his playing time has increased in the last 2 games, both Edwards and Jaylen Clark should be returning soon.
It’s important to note the season is just 5 games old, and 77 remain. The Wolves got off to a slow start last year as well. Minnesota will still have an opportunity to rectify what looks like a mistake thus far by upgrading at the point guard position by the trade deadline.