Minnesota Sports Forum

The back end of the rotation is still a question mark. We know who the five starters are, Ayo is locked in as 6th man, and Joan will be the first big off the bench. Trey Lyles is likely to have a role...Finchy seems to think he needs to be out there with Joan a lot to help with rebounding. And I think Bones will have a situational role, coming in as a shooter in games where we really need a spark.

That tells me that one of the three guys in the thread title are competing for a regular rotational role as 8th or 9th man. It was TJ's job to lose coming into the season, as it seems like Finchy likes him at the top of the key when LaMelo is out. But TJ has disappointed before, either by inconsistent performance or injury, so I think this contest is wide open. It's fun to see Jaylen do Jaylen things when he is out there, but most of us have given up on his chance to be an offensive factor. So I'm going to make a case for Cody Williams to come out on top.

We can all agree that he was awful his first year in Utah, and while he shined as a starter in April last season (16.2/4.5/5.7), he was playing with a team that had no interest in winning, so it's unclear how much stock we can put in those 6 games. Plus despite the impressive stats, he was only 3 for 20 (15%) on 3-pointers for the month! But we also know who Clark is, and since TJ is already 25 years old, we may know who he is also. Here's why I'm thinking Cody is going to win this race.

He's only 22 years old, and was far and away the most highly regarded prospect of the three. He was a consensus 5-star recruit coming out of high school, and showed enough potential in his one year at Colorado to be drafted 10th by Utah. In contrast, both Clark and TJ stayed in school several years before they were deemed ready, and were drafted 53rd and 27th respectively. Both were impressive in their final years in college...Clark on defense and TJ mostly on offense...but they were mostly playing against players younger than them, unlike Cody who was playing as a young freshman. NBA draft.net had the following score for each: Cody-95, TJ-92, Jaylen-87. And while Cody has been a terrible shooter in his 2 years in the pros, he made 17 if his 41 treys in college (41.5%)...in contrast TJ shot 34.7% and Clark 30.2%.

Beyond pedigree and potential, Cody has been the best of the three in the first 2 preseason games. His defense has been stellar, and his handle and passing have been much better than I would have expected. It's easy to see how he averaged 5.7 assists per game with only 2 turnovers as an April starter last season.

I know the 8th and 9th man are not as important as how we incorporate Melo and JK into the team, but it's still going to be important to our success. We can use this thread to evaluate how each of the three are doing, and who is going to win the battle.

I have been hesitant to trade TJ, his super power is very useful and different from any of the other bench guys but we still need his consistency to take a leap.

Cody has been doing very fun looking things in his stints so far in preseason and if he can capitalize on the opportunity I could see him being a better fit.

Jaylen is just super useful on an nba team. Every team needs the pest. The guy who gets the steal and turns momentum. Who can come in and frustrate a star into a foul. If he shows even a small bit of three point level up over last year it’s tough to wanna sit him too many games.


Then Donte comes back.

One of the above 4 will need to be traded. The wolves are desperate for trade ammo and if all four of those guys look like good rotational pieces then one or more has to recoup some value. I don’t know enough of the contract info off hand but I kinda feel like Donte is the one whose money is tough to fit into our team…..but he is also the most important to chemistry so maybe two of the three besides him need to be moved?

Fun problem to have as they all offer different entertaining aspects to watch. We used to hope one of our 7 or 8 bench guys would some day turn into a useful rotational guy…now we are wondering how to fit all of the talent into the rotation….its really been an amazing few years of being a fan of this team.

Of course odds are they won’t all exceed expectations

Comparing Cody's make-rate on 41 collegiate 3-point attempts in a single season to Shannon's 574 over five seasons is quite the leap there FNG.

And at this point, we should completely throw out whatever he did in college. He's now entering year three in the NBA and has missed 203 out of 266 3-point attempts, which makes Jaylen Clark look like Steph Curry. Then there is his 29% 3-pt rate in the G-League. In other words, there is absolutely NOTHING that indicates he will be a reliable 3-point shooter in the near future. And that's a problem unless he's out there with four other shooters, which basically means Lyles or Jaden would be at Center.

Now if Clark can't shoot either, then I could certainly see him leap-frogging Jaylen for spot/situational minutes. But as long as he can't shoot, there is really no place for him in the top 8 rotation since we already have two bigs that can't shoot (Rudy and Joan) and a third big (Kuminga) that is iffy at best.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Fri Oct 09, 2026 1:33 pm Comparing Cody's make-rate on 41 collegiate 3-point attempts in a single season to Shannon's 574 over five seasons is quite the leap there FNG.

And at this point, we should completely throw out whatever he did in college. He's now entering year three in the NBA and has missed 203 out of 266 3-point attempts, which makes Jaylen Clark look like Steph Curry. Then there is his 29% 3-pt rate in the G-League. In other words, there is absolutely NOTHING that indicates he will be a reliable 3-point shooter in the near future. And that's a problem unless he's out there with four other shooters, which basically means Lyles or Jaden would be at Center.

Now if Clark can't shoot either, then I could certainly see him leap-frogging Jaylen for spot/situational minutes. But as long as he can't shoot, there is really no place for him in the top 8 rotation since we already have two bigs that can't shoot (Rudy and Joan) and a third big (Kuminga) that is iffy at best.

Haha, yes it is a leap! But I'm also not ready to say a 22 year old can't learn to shoot. Yes, it was only 41 attempts in college, but he did make 42% of them...at the same age in their freshman seasons Clark and Shannon made 20% and 26%, respectively! And just 6 years later, last season TJ made 41% of his threes...some evidence that how you shoot at 19 may not be how you are going to shoot at 25. When I look at the shooting form of all three of them, I don't think any of them will ever be an above average 3-point shooter (although TJ was last season with a small sample size), so they are going to earn their way into a rotation by their other skills. Clark is an above average defender, but has little to offer on the offensive end. TJ is explosive on getting to the basket with his left hand, but defenders are going to learn he can't go to his right...and he's a below average defender. Cody has been a poor outside shooter in the pros, but he has been more effective inside the arc than Clark and Shannon...56% compared to 52% and 48%. Much of his scoring at Utah was on cuts to the basket, and that can only improve in the minutes he would be out there with Ball...he has terrific cutting instincts. And finally he seems to be a very good defender.

All three have flaws, so it's going to be a question of which one can most effectively highlight their strengths while minimizing their weaknesses. I've seen enough of Clark's inept offense and TJ's poor defense and lack of a right hand to think it's more likely than not neither one is ever going to be a reliable contributor for us. I'm going to bet on the 22 year old with the better pedigree.

I am more intrigued with Cody than I was when we traded for him. He has legitimately shown some NBA skills.

It just occurred to me that the Wolves need to decide on Cody’s team option for next season by the end of the month. I had always assumed they would not pick it up. But could that be a reason for playing him now? See if something is there? Or let other teams see him play to generate some trade interest?

60WinTim wrote: ↑Sat Oct 10, 2026 11:44 am It just occurred to me that the Wolves need to decide on Cody’s team option for next season by the end of the month. I had always assumed they would not pick it up. But could that be a reason for playing him now? See if something is there? Or let other teams see him play to generate some trade interest?

Crap, I totally forgot about that, Tim. Yeah, I think they have to give him a lot of minutes now, but I'd be surprised if TC decides to pick up the $7 million option...way too much for a guy who has struggled with his shot. Now I'm embarrassed I started this thread .

In related news, Josh Green appears to be deeply buried on the Jazz roster...in their first two games he had a scoreless outing and a DNP.

FNG wrote: ↑Sat Oct 10, 2026 2:44 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Sat Oct 10, 2026 11:44 am It just occurred to me that the Wolves need to decide on Cody’s team option for next season by the end of the month. I had always assumed they would not pick it up. But could that be a reason for playing him now? See if something is there? Or let other teams see him play to generate some trade interest?

Crap, I totally forgot about that, Tim. Yeah, I think they have to give him a lot of minutes now, but I'd be surprised if TC decides to pick up the $7 million option...way too much for a guy who has struggled with his shot. Now I'm embarrassed I started this thread .

In related news, Josh Green appears to be deeply buried on the Jazz roster...in their first two games he had a scoreless outing and a DNP.

Honestly I think his option gets picked to. That 7 million is good for trades and cheaper contracts. I think players like Cody Williams are super easy to trade even with a year left.

Through 3 games here are my thoughts on these 3 guys.

Clark he is who he is and that's fine. He hasn't exactly distinguished himself.

TJ needs to play minutes and see what he can and can't do. It's an absolute mixed bag. He does some really nice things but then sometimes you kinda cover your eyes. The upside is there but the reality is right now Bones is the better player. Also TJ looks like a guard not a big wing. He just doesn't play like a guy you want playing as a big.

Cody has shown some solid play. At this point i would rather sée him playing even at PF than Freeman who I supported going into SL and he plays with frenetic energy which is great but he looks more like a camp body. That Omur dude was better than him in the Miami game. Anyways Williams defense has looked pretty good and he has some really nice length and looks a little less skinny. There definitely looks like there MIGHT be something moderately worthwhile there. Q is right his 3 point shooting track record doesn't give a ton of hope. I think his length give you something other guys don't have. He is more of a Jaden (or Kuminga) sized guy than the other players

Also Lyles has been a little underwhelming.

Cody looks like an NBA player. Is he a good enough defender/rebounder/player to warrant taking away time from other guys? Not my call, but he looks the part. (Josh Minot looked the part)

I genuinely don't get all the negativity regarding Shannon on this board....we bitch about guys that can't shoot and Shannon can handle/shoot and distribute. He's not a great team defender but we've seen him be a very good on ball defender last season..he's big, and he's a change of pace off the bench