Contrary to what everyone believes, I don't think the lack of a true starting power forward is the biggest problem/question mark facing the Minnesota Timberwolves this upcoming season. Between Jaden McDaniels, LaMelo Ball's positional height, and rotational guys like Trey Lyles, Josh Green, and Joan Beringer, I think the power forward spot will be solved by committee.
The biggest question mark, in my opinion, is who will step up and be the main scoring option off the bench with Naz Reid no longer in the fold? A lot of the Wolves bench is relatively unproven, but the two candidates who have shown the biggest flashes of replacing that scoring are Bones Hyland and Terrence Shannon Jr.
Bones Hyland's case to lead the Wolves bench in scoring
Last season was a bit of a career resurrection for Hyland. He had one foot out of the league the year prior and was able to ink a non-guaranteed deal with the Wolves before the season. With the shortcomings of Rob Dillingham and Mike Conley falling off the age cliff, the Wolves needed any production they could get out of the backup point guard spot and turned to Hyland pretty early on in the year.
While he fell slightly out of favor in the postseason, he gave the Wolves some extremely valuable regular-season production. He put together his most efficient season as a pro with averages of 8.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists on 45.3/38.8/78 splits.
With Reid gone, more shots off the bench will open up, and with Hyland having a lot of the backup ball-handling duties, him having an uptick in shots makes a lot of sense. If he can get his points up to around 12-13 a game, and the Wolves are one of the best teams in the league, he could be a dark-horse Sixth Man of the Year contender.
Terrence Shannon Jr.'s case to lead the Wolves bench in scoring
Shannon had a bit of a coming-out party in this recent playoff run given how shorthanded the Wolves were. Between Donte DiVincenzo's Achilles injury and Anthony Edwards missing some time with knee injuries, it opened up not only minutes but shot attempts for Shannon, and he took full advantage.
Most notably, he had 24 points in the closeout game against Denver. But in that whole series, he shined, averaging 14 points per game on 51.6 percent shooting. Against the Spurs, he struggled, but then again, so did the whole team. He still managed to put up 10.7 points per game in that series, but on poor efficiency (34.9%).
He's a great cutter, a blur in transition, and a respectable corner 3-point shooter, which means he should feast playing with LaMelo Ball. Between both of these guys, I would expect Shannon to be the one who leads the bench in scoring.
Regardless, this new-look bench has a lot to prove this season, and if they can successfully replace most of what Reid did during his tenure, led by Shannon and Hyland, we're looking at an even more successful season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google