Heading into the season, the Minnesota Timberwolves were always going to have a lot of trial and error when it came to making their new roster work. Changing things up so massively from a team that accomplished so much a season ago meant growing pains were guaranteed.
In a way, that means that the Wolves' early season struggles were to be expected. Factor in some key injuries like the one that kept Mike Conley sidelined for a key stretch, and it is far from surprising that Minnesota looked lost for a time. Now, as they begin to find their defensive identity again, things are reverting to the norm.
Even as the Timberwolves slowly climb back up in the standings with three straight wins to their name, the front office will still be doing their due diligence and thinking about how to improve this roster moving forward. Drastic changes are not likely, as Chris Finch and his staff have enough on their plate with trying to make Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo work effectively already.
But with that said, they are likely still looking around the league at what minor additions they can make at the trade deadline in February. One area they may look to address is point guard. Mike Conley has clearly been invaluable to this group, as evidenced by the team's struggles while he was away. Rob Dillingham showed some excellent flashes in his absence, but knowing Finch's tendencies, he may prefer to also have a veteran in the locker room to back up Conley as well.
Dennis Schroder could be a fit for the Timberwolves
One veteran ball-handler who could hypothetically be available at the deadline is the Brooklyn Nets' Dennis Schroder. Bringing 11 years of experience to the table and currently enjoying one of his best seasons as a pro, Schroder would fill that role of a backup lead ball-handler quite well, and could be yet another mentor to Dillingham.
Adding Dennis to this team makes sense for a few reasons, the first of which being his scoring power. Schroder is currently averaging 17.9 points per game with respectable shooting splits of 43/37/89%. While Conley is having a down season shooting the ball and taking more of his shots from outside the arc than ever before, Schroder being younger and more athletic means he can bring an ability to take defenders off the dribble more consistently while being a playmaker as well.
The next biggest reason Schroder could make sense is that bringing him on still means the Wolves can stay on their current timeline with Rob Dillingham. The Karl-Anthony Towns trade seemed to change their intentions of playing Dillingham consistently big minutes in his rookie season, but it is clear they still have an abundance of belief in him.
Putting Dennis in the equation would give Minnesota a tenured backup option to improve their depth while still keeping their established vision of Dillingham potentially being the team's future at point guard. The Nets are not likely to make a push for the playoffs, so it is reasonable to assume they could be willing to sell off assets at the trade deadline.