Mike Conley has had a wonderful career, and he has been a key part of the Minnesota Timberwolves' success in recent years. However, at 38, it's not exactly shocking that he's no longer very impactful. 22 games into the season, Conley is averaging 19.4 minutes, 5.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists on 37.9 percent shooting from the field. All of these numbers are career lows.
Conley still has some value as a stable playmaker. For a Wolves team that lacks point guard play, it makes sense that Conley still sees the floor. Regardless, it's clear that he is at the end of the road, and I think all Wolves fans would agree that reducing his minutes would be logical.
Now, many Timberwolves fans think that Conley should be yanked from the rotation altogether. I wouldn't go this far, but reducing his minutes to closer to 15 minutes per game, to make room for the young players, would be ideal in my eyes. This isn't an easy choice for Chris Finch, but it's one that would help the team.
Conley getting fewer minutes would help the young guys
Conley currently ranks seventh on the team with 19.3 minutes. Conversely, Jaylen Clark, Terrence Shannon Jr., and Rob Dillingham are struggling to break the 15 mpg threshold, with Dillingham stuck at 10.2 minutes. If the Wolves reduce Conley's minutes, it gives the young players a clear path to earn more minutes. My theory is that you give the young player who is performing best in that game Conley's minutes.
Eventually, one of these players could separate themselves and earn a consistent 19 to 20 minutes a game. Over the past five games, Terrence Shannon Jr. has looked like the player fans were hoping for before the season. He is averaging 8.2 points while shooting 57.2 percent from the field. However, he is stuck at 12.7 minutes per game during this stretch, which is below his season average.
Clark's 5.2 points per game in this stretch aren't eye-popping, but he's shooting 37.5 percent from 3-point range and is essential to the Wolves' defensive identity. In fact, the Wolves are 10-0 when Clark plays 15-plus minutes. Getting him to this threshold consistently could be a difference maker for the Wolves, and you can't do that without cutting Conley's minutes.
In the Timberwolves' recent game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Clark had a season high of 12 points, and Shannon had a solid seven points. Yet, Clark had 14 minutes, Shannon had nine, and Conley had 17.
Dillingham hasn't looked super impressive this season or in the last five games. On the season, he is averaging 3.9 points while shooting 35.2 percent from the field. However, Dillingham hasn't been given much of a runway. Cutting some of Conley's minutes would likely result in more opportunities for TSJ and Clark, but it's also the only path to Dillingham getting some sort of a chance.
At this point, Clark and TSJ have been more impactful than Conley. It's not an easy decision, but giving them more minutes over Conley could benefit the Wolves in a significant way.
This isn't an easy decision for Finch
I do want to acknowledge that this isn't a no-brainer decision for Finch. Further reducing some of Conley's minutes is a tricky thing to do, given his importance to the team over the past several years. Since the Wolves lack a point guard and a trusted decision maker, this is even harder to do.
However, Conley hasn't been one of the Wolves' seven best players this season. It's also worth noting that despite the Wolves' clear need for a PG, they're better with Conley off the floor. Per Cleaning the Class, the Wolves have a plus-2.0 efficiency differential (58th percentile) with Conley and a plus-9.1 efficiency differential (85th percentile) without him.
While Conley is still a stabilizing force, his lack of burst and shot creation limits his impact. Again, it's unrealistic to say he shouldn't play at all; the Wolves still need Conley at time. Nevertheless, they need the young players more.