It was a nice story when Kyle Anderson rejoined the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 32-year-old forward spent two years with the franchise in 2022-23 and 2023-24. After being waived by the Memphis Grizzlies, where Anderson didn’t fit their timeline, he came back to the familiar setting of Minnesota once he cleared waivers.
That allowed Slo Mo to once again become teammates with players like Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, and Mike Conley. One player that wasn’t his teammate until now is Julius Randle, as he joined the team in 2024-25. They have similar roles which makes it seem like it would be clunky to play them together, and right now (albeit in a small sample size), the numbers back that up.
Anderson and Randle aren't a well-fitting duo
Now, when I say similar roles, obviously, the Timberwolves expect Randle to be much more of a scorer (although that hasn’t really been the case of late due to his massive struggles since after the All-Star break). Both can play the role of a facilitating point forward, though, and both come with the label of not being huge threats from outside.
Again, it’s a small size (Anderson has been back for just five games), but the numbers don’t look promising when the two share the court. Thus far, they have played together for 90 possessions. According to Cleaning the Glass, Anderson and Randle on the court together have an offensive rating of 102.2 and a defensive rating of 128.2 (minus-26 net rating).
Now, to be fair, the Kyle and Anthony Edwards pairing has an even worse net rating, posting a minus-33.5. However, in 2023-24, the two had a net rating of plus-10.4 when playing together, so at least they have a history of working nicely on the court as a pair.
Anderson has only attempted six 3-pointers in his 29 appearances this season, and none with Minnesota. Randle is making only 30.6 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc and is just 5-33 (15.2 percent) since the All-Star break. Opposing teams don’t have to fear either of them from outside, and if Rudy Gobert is also on the floor with them, that certainly isn’t an optimal 3-point lineup.
There’s nothing wrong with Chris Finch letting Anderson and Randle play some together since there was no data on how it would work. On paper, it didn’t look promising, and now the results tend to agree. It certainly seems like it would behoove Finch and the Wolves to stagger their minutes.