Analyzing The Minnesota Timberwolves Starting Options

During the offseason, the Minnesota Timberwolves made plenty of changes to their roster. After somewhat underachieving last season, Kevin Love bolted for greener pastures and the Timberwolves went about securing the best possible package of talent and assets in return.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Andrew Wiggins, now calls Minnesota home, as does the No. 1 pick from the 2013 NBA Draft, Anthony Bennett. Both young guys were sent to the Timberwolves from Cleveland in the Love deal.

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The Timberwolves also drafted Zach LaVine out of UCLA with their own pick and secured the services of

Thaddeus Young

in a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. It’s safe to say the starting lineup might look a little different this season.

With the influx of new talent comes some concerns around minutes and roles for each player. After all, the Timberwolves also have Shabazz Muhammad, Corey Brewer and Kevin Martin on the roster. Finding the right balance of court time, the right rotations and structures while continuing to develop the talent of these players is going to take some doing.

That is the burden that sits squarely on the shoulders of the Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders — and it is a nice problem to have.

After several talent-starved years, the Timberwolves have arguably their most potent roster since the Kevin Garnett days. How it all works though is anyone’s guess.

Wiggins, Brewer, Muhammad and even Chase Budinger will be trying to find minutes at the small forward position. Young and Bennett will likely job-share the power forward spot, while the shooting guard position is even more congested. Veteran Martin, rookie LaVine and even Wiggins are all likely to spend time there and you might even see free agent signing Mo Williams spend some time at the 2 spot if the Timberwolves run a small ball lineup.

Managing this is going to take some doing. So who will Saunders likely start come the season opener?

Let’s work backwards from the center spot. Gorgui Dieng has shown incredible talent and development for Senegal in the FIBA competition in Spain this past month. It is likely though, that Nikola Pekovic still gets the starting spot but will be well supported by Dieng.

After all, Pek has the experience and has held down the center for the Timberwolves for a while now.

You would assume that Young gets the starting nod over Bennett. Bennett could prove to be quite a talent after a very average rookie campaign, but Young has shown he is ready to compete at the NBA level after basically carrying the paltry Philadelphia 76ers last season. Young will play 75 percent of the minutes while Bennett will come along slowly in a reserve role.

The starting point guard is Ricky Rubio. That is a lock. The Spanish guard is a magician with the basketball and has shown over time that he can run an offense. He will now be asked to lead the team in Kevin Love’s absence and time will tell if he is ready for that responsibility.

J.J. Barea and Williams will serve as very good backups and should provide that veteran experience and leadership that might just rub off on Rubio and allow him to take his game to the next level.

That leaves us with the logjam that is the shooting guard and small forward positions.

Considering the youthfulness of the squad, you can bet that Flip Saunders would like to inject some experience into the starting unit, which suggests that Martin will be on the floor at the opening tip. His game is very complimentary to Rubio and he could work very well off Young and Pekovic as well.

His ability to knock down long range shots and to get to the foul line when needed helps the Timberwolves balance the floor. Defensively, Wiggins might be better, but offensively Martin has him covered – for now.

At the small forward position, expect to see Wiggins. While it would be easier and safer to start with Brewer, Wiggins is the draw card and is arguably the most NBA ready player in this rookie crop. Quite frankly, he will give you plenty of run, plenty of highlights, won’t be asked to carry the scoring load and will defend admirably.

He might also spend time at the shooting guard spot at times (as suggested above) but I honestly feel he starts at the SF spot on opening night.

So let’s have a look at how the starting five would look for the Minnesota Timberwolves: Rubio, Martin, Wiggins, Young, Pekovic. Plenty of talent there and a solid blend of inside and outside scoring, rebounding and defense, youth and experience.

The NBA preseason in October will give us a good insight into the mind of Saunders and just how he plans on balancing the roster and just what roles these young stars will play. Either way, whether they are coming off the bench or starting on the floor, it’s going to be a very exciting year in Minnesota.

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