The Minnesota Timberwolves' point guard room and especially the play of Mike Conley have drawn the attention of observers, all for the wrong reasons. During a recent episode of The Zach Lowe Show, Lowe was discussing teams that are on notice early in the season. Lowe mentioned the Wolves and made a somewhat offhanded but important comment about Conley.
"Timberwolves, 2-3, just on notice, changed the starting five, that was a little bit of a red flag about Mike Conley," Lowe said.
To Lowe's point, for a Wolves team that lacks playmaking and a true point guard, it's hard not to raise your eyebrows about benching Conley in favor of Donte DiVincenzo. While Conley has returned to the starting lineup after Anthony Edwards' injury, it's clear that Chris Finch and the Wolves prefer him in a reserve role. Notably, Conley averaged 11 minutes in the two full games without Ant.
Lowe, calling the starting lineup change a red flag, comes after Timberwolves reporter Dane Moore mentioned that this change was somewhat last-minute. The fact that this wasn't a long-term plan should further raise eyebrows about Conley.
Conley is declining and the Wolves desperately need a point guard
For the season, Conley is averaging 20 minutes, 5.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3 assists on 30.8/35.7/100 shooting splits. Conley's minutes, points, assists, and field goal percentage are all career lows. His solid spot-up shooting and high-IQ playmaking are still clear positives. Nevertheless, Conley's lack of shot creation, speed, and defense makes him a flawed player at this stage of his career.
Frankly, Conley is 38, and it's amazing that the 6-foot guard is still playing in the NBA at all. He's had a wonderful career, but it's clear he doesn't have much in the tank.
The writing was on the wall for Conley to take another step back after he averaged career lows in points (8.2) and minutes (24.7) last year. Conley followed this up by averaging 6 points on 30 percent shooting in the playoffs. Going back to Lowe's original point, Finch's last-minute lineup change should have made this decline even more predictable.
With Edwards out for at least the next six games, expect Conley to play starter-level minutes. However, this will be out of necessity, and once Edwards returns, this won't be the case. In the meantime, I think all fans are hoping to see more of second-year guard Rob Dillingham.
It's only November, but it wouldn't shock anyone if the Wolves look to upgrade their point guard position at the trade deadline.