The Minnesota Timberwolves have a champagne problem going into the 2026 season. The Timberwolves have an exciting team, adding LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga to take pressure off their existing core. But with Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards already on the roster, there’s only one basketball for everyone to get their touches.
This is a reason why the Timberwolves’ shift to a more dynamic roster has plenty of critics going into this season. But it may not matter after their first two preseason games. Outside of Edwards, who currently has a team-high 23 attempts after the first two games, McDaniels, Kuminga and Ball each have at least 13 attempts, while Gobert has seven.
Preseason basketball should be taken with a grain of salt. But with the regular season a few weeks away, it shows that Chris Finch and his staff may have a plan that helps spread the wealth and make Minnesota a more difficult team to play this season.
The Timberwolves may already have a way to keep everyone happy
The Timberwolves’ intent to spread the wealth can be seen in the box score, but it also comes down to Ball’s role as a facilitator. Ball is tied with McDaniels for the second-most shot attempts on the team through two preseason games, but he’s been an equal-opportunity distributor mainly through the increased usage of pick-and-roll situations.
In the preseason opener against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night, that showed up as Ball had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists in his 17 minutes on the court. It continued in Wednesday’s 123-112 loss to the Pacers, as Ball went 5-for-9 from the floor with 14 points but also had seven assists and four rebounds.
That type of performance, although it came with five turnovers, should help the flow of the Timberwolves offense. But it also should help McDaniels fulfill expectations of an increased offensive role. McDaniels had nine points on 4-of-5 shooting against the Bucks but doubled down with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting against the Pacers. Most notably, McDaniels went 4-for-6 on 3-pointers on Wednesday, and that could be aided by Ball’s willingness to put him in advantageous situations.
Between Edwards, who finished with 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting on Wednesday night, Ball, and McDaniels, the Timberwolves have a fine foundation for their offense. But the biggest issue may be making sure that Kuminga and Gobert continue to stay involved.
Timberwolves podcaster Dane Moore may have mentioned that the team could find a hack by adjusting the tempo. Basic math shows that the more possessions the Wolves have, the more chances they can give the ball to Kuminga and Gobert. But he also noted that the five lobs that Minnesota had as a team against the Bucks can be an effective way to scheme those touches without having to alter their offense.
“They must have thrown more lob passes [against Milwaukee]…than they did all season,” Moore said on an episode of The Dane Moore NBA Podcast. “...It’s a serious thing. Like, we should figure out what’s going on here because that’s going to help, man.
“The two guys who are gonna get most shortchanged in this offense – because the usage pie is gonna be tricky when you have Ant and LaMelo, right? – is Kuminga and Gobert. Like, they’re gonna be the guys when things aren’t going perfectly, that they get pinched, just from touches on offense, shot totals, [etc.] And I think it’s such an effective scam to just get them like four or five [touches]...and if they’re big touches…[and] you get Rudy, like, two lob dunks in the first quarter, it’s like, OK, now Rudy can deal with the rest of it.
“If Kuminga is sort of getting pushed off into the corner for a lot of the half-court possessions, if you can get him Miles Bridges’ style going fast break [and] lobs…I really think that’s going to matter, and it showed up in the first preseason game.”
The obvious benefit is that the Wolves can get shot attempts for Gobert and Kuminga in transition without having to draw them up. But it also takes away some of the variance in their offense from game-to-game. Kuminga was a glaring example, going 2-for-4 with an alley-oop from Bones Hyland against the Bucks. But that efficiency went in the other direction, going 1-for-9 against the Pacers.
Gobert also lived around the rim going 3-for-4 against the Bucks but also made an impact with seven points and nine rebounds against Indiana.
The Timberwolves may have already solved their biggest offensive problem
It’s one thing to share the wealth during a pair of preseason games. But it’s still encouraging to see progress as the Wolves get ready to take on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat to open the season on Oct. 21.
Finding an effective balance of shots is a good way to manage egos going into the year. But it’s also something the Wolves will have to figure out if they want to take another step toward contending for a championship in the Western Conference.
This could change as the season commences, but it feels like the Wolves have a solid gameplan as they make their way through the preseason and when games start to count.
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