Timberwolves Roster

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

You guys losing faith in Naz Reid and Ed Davis already!?

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

You guys losing faith in Naz Reid and Ed Davis already!?

I actually think Naz Reid is a solid backup center and I'm expecting good things from him this year in his second season. I also hope he's the primary backup and not Ed Davis despite the latter likely being a better defender. Reid's development is important for this franchise in the event that Karl-Anthony Towns does miss games.

If Towns is out for large stretches of the year, though... There's no one in the league that can do what he does offensively. This ship would sink immediately.

[Tactical unit]

Prediction to start the season are starters: DLO, Beasley, Edwards, Hernangomez, KAT and predicting the bench is pointless IMO due to benches not being used as a 5 for 5 swap out. However I do like the defense off the bench Rubio, Okogie, & Culver would be strong defensively. I could see Okogie or Rubio as starters as they flat out bring effort that they might want starting. Also Beasley's offense off the bench might be desired or making Edwards earn it could be there thoughts. Naz will get burn as a big off the bench and Layman will be used early and lose his role as the season goes on. Layman would have to develop as a shooter IMO to keep a role with this team.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I'm not saying he should start... but it has to be viewed as a bit of a disappointed if last year's #6 pick is not good enough to start for a lottery bound team this season.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I'm not saying he should start... but it has to be viewed as a bit of a disappointed if last year's #6 pick is not good enough to start for a lottery bound team this season.

Agreed, but I do think there's a decent chance that Jarrett Culver starts at the three if Anthony Edwards isn't picked first overall.

[thedoper]

I'm not saying he should start... but it has to be viewed as a bit of a disappointed if last year's #6 pick is not good enough to start for a lottery bound team this season.

I think calling Culver's rookie season anything other than a disappointment is being extremely generous to a handful of games where he improved to playable in the NBA. I actually think it will make the most sense to start Okogie or Layman if we wanted to instill a winning culture where players earned their minutes. But this is a "player first" losing franchise so it will probably be Edwards.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Prediction to start the season are starters: DLO, Beasley, Edwards, Hernangomez, KAT and predicting the bench is pointless IMO due to benches not being used as a 5 for 5 swap out. However I do like the defense off the bench Rubio, Okogie, & Culver would be strong defensively. I could see Okogie or Rubio as starters as they flat out bring effort that they might want starting. Also Beasley's offense off the bench might be desired or making Edwards earn it could be there thoughts. Naz will get burn as a big off the bench and Layman will be used early and lose his role as the season goes on. Layman would have to develop as a shooter IMO to keep a role with this team.

That may end up being the worst defensive starting 5 in he history of the NBA! I would think Ryan would want at least one defender starting, whether that's Rubio for Beasley or Okogie for Edwards. Not that it will make a huge difference since the other four are bad. Ugh....

Other than Robert Covington, this team is literally incapable of finding or developing someone that can both play defense and shoot the 3. It would almost be a violation of the laws of nature for this to happen....ESPECIALLY with someone we have drafted.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Prediction to start the season are starters: DLO, Beasley, Edwards, Hernangomez, KAT and predicting the bench is pointless IMO due to benches not being used as a 5 for 5 swap out. However I do like the defense off the bench Rubio, Okogie, & Culver would be strong defensively. I could see Okogie or Rubio as starters as they flat out bring effort that they might want starting. Also Beasley's offense off the bench might be desired or making Edwards earn it could be there thoughts. Naz will get burn as a big off the bench and Layman will be used early and lose his role as the season goes on. Layman would have to develop as a shooter IMO to keep a role with this team.

That may end up being the worst defensive starting 5 in he history of the NBA! I would think Ryan would want at least one defender starting, whether that's Rubio for Beasley or Okogie for Edwards. Not that it will make a huge difference since the other four are bad. Ugh....

Other than Robert Covington, this team is literally incapable of finding or developing someone that can both play defense and shoot the 3. It would almost be a violation of the laws of nature for this to happen....ESPECIALLY with someone we have drafted.

Beasley seems like the type of guy to thrive on second units.

Is that worth $15M on a non-playoff team?

I'm less sure.

[60WinTim]

Other than Robert Covington, this team is literally incapable of finding or developing someone that can both play defense and shoot the 3. It would almost be a violation of the laws of nature for this to happen....ESPECIALLY with someone we have drafted.

So with my Wolves' interest re-kindled, I had to restart my Athletic subscription again so I could read articles by Jon, Britt, et al. One of Britt's observations is that the starting duo of Kat and RoCo (RoCo at the 4) was terrible last year, but that the Kat and Layman (Layman at the 4) was pretty darn good. I'm not exactly sure how to process that information as of yet. Sample size is a factor I am sure. But just sayin'...

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I think it's a lock that D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley (assuming he's not in jail or suspended), Juan Hernangomez, and Karl-Anthony Towns will be in the starting lineup when healthy. There's one remaining spot that I see as "up for grabs" so to speak.

Both Josh Okogie and Jarrett Culver make sense to start at the three to provide some defense at the wing. If I was picking between the two I'd want Culver to get that nod as I saw serious improvement from him once the new calendar year hit during his rookie season. He was better during that stretch than most probably think. Plus, I think Okogie provides a spark, an energy burst off the bench that the alternative options just can't replicate. Some guys are just better than others at ramping themselves up as a reserve.

Jake Layman deserves to have his name mentioned here because he does play both ends of the floor to some degree. This from Britt Robson at The Athletic:

"...the player who worked best with KAT on defense is small-ball combo forward Layman: In 198 minutes together, their on-court defensive rating was 101.3 points allowed per 100 possessions..."

However, Layman is not a long-term piece for this franchise and I fully expect Minnesota to roll with one of their more youthful options. They have too many young wings to afford giving Layman 30-plus minutes on a nightly basis. He's not good enough to justify that, in my opinion.

And then there's Anthony Edwards, the top pick in the draft. I think it was Abe (?) that documented in another thread how often top overall picks start their rookie year. It's quite often. Usually, that's because the team that drafted first is a very bad team that is solely focused on player development and finding additional talent. I would argue that the Wolves, despite their record last year, don't fit that mold. There are two named All-Stars on this team along with two starter-quality players making $13-million and $17-million, respectively. This team should be more competitive than most teams that pick first overall. That might play into things here. Does Edwards' natural scoring ability and developed body make him the best bet to start at the three despite his unproven shooting ability and defensive lapses? Is Edwards ready to play starter minutes without having much of an off-season ramp up to the season? Do they want to bring him along slowly? Ultimately, that will be on The Golden Child, Ryan Saunders, to decide.

I think Edwards will get the starting job. I think they might want to play him along Russell and Towns as much as they can to try and keep the pressure off of him, as well as develop some kind of chemistry in-game with them. I could be wrong, but that's just how I see it.