It seems like a summer of changes could be occurring for the Minnesota Timberwolves. An ugly ending to their postseason at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs showed that work still needs to be done in order for the Wolves to be a title contender.
Unfortunately, next season will see Donte DiVincenzo out for most, if not all, of it as he recovers from a torn Achilles. He’s never going to be someone who puts up huge numbers, but The Big Ragu is someone who provides a ton of leadership on the court, continuously plays his hardest, and is a huge threat from beyond the arc.
Knowing that DiVincenzo will be sidelined, it’s pertinent that the team finds a way to replace much of his all-around impact this summer.
DiVincenzo’s impact goes beyond the box scoreÂ
It isn’t easy to replace a player in DiVincenzo who connected on 244 3-pointers last season. It isn’t easy to replace a player who played in all 82 regular season games last season, starting all of them. That’s where the Timberwolves find themselves, though.
Minnesota found themselves middle of the pack during the regular season with 14.8 made threes per contest. Including Game 4 of the opening round when DiVincenzo got hurt barely a minute into the game, they made just 10.2 treys a game in their last nine playoff games.
DiVincenzo, now 29 years old, is someone who isn’t going to let screens and picks deter him from guarding his man. He has above-average steal and rebound rates for his position and isn’t going to make costly turnovers on the offensive end all that often.
Depth is important, and you’re seeing it play out now in the playoffs. Seeing a guy who is beloved by the entire team sidelined for such a long time can’t be easy, particularly when DiVincenzo played 30 minutes a night.
The Timberwolves could see someone like Meleek Thomas or Isaiah Evans, both capable outside shooters, available to them with the 28th pick in next month’s draft and snag them. To expect them to play heavy minutes as a late first round rookie, something that Chris Finch doesn’t really do (see Joan Beringer), just isn’t realistic.
If the Wolves re-sign Ayo Dosunmu, they will likely become a first tax apron team and won’t be very involved in bringing in outside free agents. A trade may be the best way to find a candidate to help replace DiVincenzo’s impact on the team, and it would be surprising if Tim Connelly doesn’t do any wheeling and dealing this offseason.
It’s hard to know what Minnesota’s roster will look like to start next season outside of Anthony Edwards. Without a doubt, it's going to be just as hard to fill Donte DiVincenzo’s role as long as he is out.
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