The Minnesota Timberwolves have invested a lot in their frontcourt in recent years. They made the blockbuster trade for Rudy Gobert to pair him with Karl-Anthony Towns. While Towns was eventually traded, they received Julius Randle in return. Minnesota re-signed Naz Reid last offseason to a five-year deal worth $25 million per season.
Of course, Randle and Reid have been dealt away this offseason. Minnesota needed to trade away that frontcourt depth in order to acquire LaMelo Ball, so the move can easily be justified.
Still, there are questions to be asked as the Timberwolves have moved away from their identity of having a lot of frontcourt production.
Not much behind Gobert
Gobert has mostly stayed healthy throughout his career. He has appeared in at least 66 games in each of the last eight seasons.
Still, he turned 34 years old last month. Gobert played about two fewer minutes per game in 2025–26 than he did the previous year, but he might need to play more now that Randle and Reid are gone. His backup is 19-year-old Joan Beringer, who turns 20 on November 11 and is in line for an expanded role, but he may not be ready for extensive minutes.
If Gobert is forced to miss time with an injury, that would also force Chris Finch to play Beringer even more. Who would be the backup big if this occurs? Rocco Zikarsky probably isn’t ready for a rotational role in the NBA. The Timberwolves signed Trey Lyles, who can play center, but he provides little rim protection.
There’s still a belief that the Wolves can add a power forward or center this offseason. Until they do, though, it’s concerning to think about what will happen if Gobert needs to sit out games.
Top teams in the West have big frontcourts
The Oklahoma City Thunder have a big starting lineup featuring Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren. The San Antonio Spurs, of course, roster the 7-foot-5 Victor Wembanyama. Frontcourt depth is needed against the two presumptive favorites in the Western Conference.
That’s why the Los Angeles Lakers gave up so much to acquire Walker Kessler. Even with Wembanyama and Luke Kornet coming off the bench, San Antonio still selected two centers—Jayden Quaintance and Tarris Reed—in the first-round of June’s draft. The Denver Nuggets have Nikola Jokic.
The Timberwolves went in a different direction. If the roster remains close to its current form, it will be interesting to see how Tim Connelly’s strategy works out.
Unfortunately, in an NBA trending toward frontcourt size, there's a chance this bold strategy blows up in the Timberwolves' face.
Add us as a preferred source on Google