On Sunday, it will exactly have been a month since Terrence Shannon Jr. has appeared in a game for the Minnesota Timberwolves. In that Christmas Day contest against the Denver Nuggets, the 25-year-old sustained what was soon after revealed as a left foot abductor hallucis strain.
It has been 2 different times this season that Shannon Jr. has missed action with a left foot injury. This 1 has sidelined him longer, but when he does return, Chris Finch should give him the opportunity to help what has been an underperforming bench unit despite what has been an underwhelming second season.
Subpar sophomore season shouldn't completely derail the thought of his ceiling
It has now been 14 consecutive outings that Shannon Jr. has been unable to play. His previous left foot injury in November kept him out for another nine contests. Those 23 missed games have now made it so that the 6-foot-6 guard/forward has appeared in less than half of Minnesota’s contests (22 of 45).
Those 22 appearances haven’t reached the expectations that many had set for Shannon Jr. entering his second year in the NBA. He has posted pedestrian averages of 4.5 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 12.8 minutes. After seemingly breaking out in the Western Conference finals last year, that positive momentum was supposed to continue into the regular season, but it hasn’t.
With that being said, if Shannon Jr. were available, and someone told you that a player off Minnesota’s bench not named Naz Reid scored 20+ points, wouldn’t TSJ be your first guess as the player that did so (maybe second at the latest if Bones Hyland comes to mind first)?
It’s the thought of Shannon Jr. at his best that should force Finch to give him playing time when he does return to see if he can unlock that guy we’ve seen in stints be able to score rather easily. The Timberwolves desperately need that second scorer off their bench after Reid.
When will he return?
I say all this with the caveat that the NBA trade deadline is now 12 days away on February 5. Will the Timberwolves have added a new reserve piece or 2 by then that can score and are more consistent than TSJ?
It’s also concerning that Shannon Jr. remains without a timeline to return. When the injury first occurred, it was said that he would be re-evaluated in 2 weeks. The most recent update from the team, which came on January 11, just stated that he “has continued to make progress through his return-to-play rehabilitation program. He will remain as out and further updates on his process will be provided when available.”
Saturday’s game against the Golden State Warriors will mark 15 straight contests that Shannon Jr. has been out. Hopefully, his comeback to the court is soon, because the Wolves’ bench needs a shot in the arm.