One of the biggest questions surrounding next season for the Minnesota Timberwolves revolves around Terrence Shannon Jr. and what kind of role he'll be playing. But no matter what that looks like specifically, the Wolves have made it abundantly clear that he's going to be a major part of their process in the future.
Shannon was considered a bit of a gamble as recently as a year ago. Drafted with the 27th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Terrence was one of the oldest players in his draft class out of the University of Illinois. That gave some fans pause, given the (mostly overblown) fear of drafting older college players. And on top of that, Shannon was the second player Minnesota drafted in the first round.
The most pessimistic opinions to come out of that draft night were centered around the Timberwolves drafting two players after just making it to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years. There was a thought that Minnesota should have used those picks to trade for a more established player to join the Wolves' core instead.
But if that was your opinion just 14 months ago, it's likely that Terrence Shannon has changed your perspective in just one NBA season already. He showed a lot of flashes in year one, and there's every reason to be increasingly excited about what's going to come next for him.
Shannon figures to be a big part of the Timberwolves' plans
Firstly, Shannon's physical profile was always going to give him an excellent chance of succeeding from the start, no matter which team he was drafted by. Terrence had an NBA-ready body a year ago, and he showed no desire to back down from his hard-nosed style of play in year one.
For a Timberwolves team that sometimes struggled to sustain their offensive attack whilst incorporating Julius Randle this past season, Shannon's burst and athleticism provided a welcome change. We all know around these parts that Chris Finch can be a stickler for playing veterans over younger players, but even he couldn't deny what we were all seeing from Terrence.
Outside of the top eight guys that Finch typically played most, Shannon got the second-most minutes per game of the remaining players on the roster, behind only Jaylen Clark. What's perhaps more encouraging than anything regarding Shannon's place going forward is that Minnesota didn't see it fit to add another rotational piece following the departure of Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
That should be as much confirmation as anything that the Wolves are confident in Terrence Shannon and planning to lean into his talents that much more in year two.