At this moment, it remains unclear who the Minnesota Timberwolves' final starter will be. LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Rudy Gobert are all shoo-ins. Ayo Dosunmu is the team's fifth-best player, but he might not be best deployed as a starter.
The debate will likely continue until an official announcement is made. However, I've really come around to the idea of having Dosunmu come off the bench for some extra bench creation and scoring. For a Wolves team that ranked 21st in bench points last season and lost their super sub, it's easy to see the logic in this.
Another clear benefit of this, would be to get a low-usage wing/forward in the starting five. With Ball, Edwards, and McDaniels, the Timberwolves have more than enough shot creation in their starting five. Plus, they are trying to unlock more of Rudy Gobert. What they truly need is a connective glue guy and a low-usage fifth starter.
While many point to starting Terrence Shannon Jr., he's too ball-dominant to thrive in this role. With the idea of a low-usage role player, Jaylen Clark or Josh Green would make more sense. Clark's viability hinges on his shooting improvement, but Green's more proven 3-and-D skill set gives them another option.
Most fans aren't penciling either Clark or Green in as starters, so this would be somewhat of a zag. Regardless, it's a zag that could pay off for all parties.
Starting Josh Green or Jaylen Clark would help the Timberwolves strike a perfect balance
Both Green and Clark also have ample strength and defensive chops to be a de facto power forward. Offensively, they're extremely low-maintenance, mainly spotting-up from beyond the arc, but they can also provide some connective skills like cutting. These players would only elevate Edwards, Ball, McDaniels, and Gobert.
Given the aforementioned offensive talent in the starting lineup and the lack of bench creation, the Timberwolves would clearly benefit from starting either Green or Clark.
Sometimes, it makes sense not to start your five best players. The Oklahoma City Thunder brought Ajay Mitchell off the bench for most of the season; the San Antonio Spurs brought Dylan Harper off the bench, and the Boston Celtics moved Payton Pritchard to the bench after they traded Anfernee Simons. Heck, Naz Reid was arguably one of the Wolves' five best players over the past three seasons.
Harper and Reid are two examples of a positional logjam determining a starting lineup. Conversely, Pritchard and Mitchell are examples of the need for bench creation and the value of having one low-usage starter. The latter mainly applies to my stance on the Wolves' starting lineup debate, though both Green and Clark could help the team's power forward void.
Look, Ayo can adapt to a low-usage role; he's a dependable shooter and thrives playing off great players. Furthermore, I totally envision Dosunmu closing even if he's not starting. Closing with your best five players is typically ideal, and thankfully, Ayo can thrive alongside the Wolves' other top players.
While Dosunmu can thrive in a low-usage role, it would be somewhat of a disservice to have him fully boxed into this role. He scored 43 points in Game 4 of the Timberwolves' first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, after all.
Overall, to ensure ample bench production and balance out the team's usage puzzle, as Chris Finch calls it, bringing Ayo off the bench in favor of a player like Green or Clark who is perfectly suited to play a low-usage role makes a lot of sense.
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