Trading for LaMelo Ball gives Anthony Edwards the most dynamic backcourt member of his career who he gets to share the floor with. Ball certainly has some red flags (health, sometimes subpar shot selection), but if the pairing works out, the offense could be absolutely electric.
Point guard was a clear need entering the offseason, and it has been filled. While that need has closed, another has opened up. First, the Wolves traded Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets. They then shipped off Naz Reid to the Charlotte Hornets in order to acquire Ball. That leaves Minnesota without a true power forward on its roster.
Timberwolves in need of power forward(s)Â
The big men that are currently on the Wolves’ roster are Rudy Gobert along with second-year players Joan Beringer and Rocco Zikarsky. All three of those guys are strictly centers.
They did select 6-foot-9 forward Trey Kaufman-Renn out of Purdue with the 59th pick on Wednesday. Taken with the second-to-last selection of the draft, it’s unreasonable to expect Kaufman-Renn to jump into a large role right away.
Kyle Anderson can come back in free agency, but, turning 33 years old on September 20, Slo Mo’s days of playing large minutes seem close to over. Julian Phillips has a cheap team option, and has been used at both forward positions in his career, but he’s barely been used since joining the NBA by both the Chicago Bulls and Timberwolves.
If Minnesota goes with starting their four best players, that would put Jaden McDaniels at power forward, starting alongside Ball, Edwards, Ayo Dosunmu, and Gobert.
Despite being listed at 185 lbs., McDaniels has proven capable in certain matchups of playing the four, but it could also take away from where he’s most effective, which is guarding the perimeter. We saw how valuable it was having McDaniels often guard Jamal Murray in the opening round of the postseason.
The Ball trade puts Minnesota at the first apron, so it can’t be expected that the team can sign an outside free agent to play meaningful minutes at power forward.
I don’t expect Tim Connelly to be done making moves, though, and he could use the expiring contract of Josh Green in order to add someone to the power forward depth chart. Green was also added in the Ball trade, and he is signed for about $14.6 million in 2026-27. His salary can prove to be important to use in a future deal, as it’s unclear if he would be able to carve out a role on his new club.
So for now, the depth chart for power forward is rather thin. Expect that to change soon though, even if it’s just a key reserve added to back up McDaniels.
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