The Minnesota Timberwolves are undergoing an identity change. After having more than $87 million in salary wrapped up in three frontcourt players last season, two of them are now gone. In 2026–27, they will owe the two members of their starting backcourt a little over $89 million.
Their roster moves also bring about a drastic change to their group of reserves. For the past few years, Naz Reid was the clear top player off the bench.
Without him, there are a few options for who that player may be in the upcoming season, depending on what the starting lineup looks like. One of those options could be Bones Hyland. He’s certainly exciting and has some big scoring nights, but he can also be inconsistent and unreliable in the postseason.
Hyland hasn't been able to solve playoff defenses
For the most part, Hyland exceeded all expectations in his first full year with the Timberwolves. Despite that, there’s a reason Minnesota was able to bring him back for just the veteran’s minimumthis offseason.
The five-year veteran had a subpar postseason and was eventually taken out of the rotation by Chris Finch. That came after three games—Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets and the first two games against the San Antonio Spurs—in which he missed all 12 of his field-goal attempts.
It hasn’t been a good run for the 25-year-old in the playoffs. In 23 career outings, Hyland has made just 33.6 percent of his field-goal attempts and 28.0 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. Last season, he shot a career-best 45.3 percent from the field, but then went on to make just 30 percent of his shots in the playoffs.
So how much would it hurt the Wolves to give Hyland significant minutes off the bench, knowing that he has thus far proven he can’t be counted on once playoff defenses tighten up? Say what you want about Mike Conley, but Finch really trusted him, and now he’s with the Boston Celtics. That could make it more difficult for Hyland to be given the hook if his postseason struggles return.
Over the course of the regular season, Hyland can also go through stretches of inconsistency. The adage is that role players perform better at home. For some strange reason, however, the 6-foot-2 guard was much more efficient at scoring the basketball on the road.
In the end, Hyland can still provide excellent value for the second consecutive year while playing on a minimum salary, but having him be this important to the Timberwolves' bench is a bit problematic.
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