Minnesota Timberwolves: A Legitimate Wing Problem
In one of my worst calls of the year last season, I said that the Minnesota Timberwolves had too much depth and nowhere near enough minutes to go around. Of course, in my blindly looking at names that seemed to register a similar response, I failed to consider that a team really only has depth when the players are good. Making the case that someone like J.J. Barea needed minutes would qualify as a significant error in judgment.
But with a new season on the horizon there is little time to revel in forecasts gone right or dwell on ones gone wrong. I was onto something, though, when I argued that the newly signed Corey Brewer seemed like a curious move when the team already had Chase Budinger and lottery rookie Shabazz Muhammad. It seemed like a lot of similar, but average, guys that would make it difficult to juggle in effort to find a cohesive go-to unit.
This season, though, I think there is a concern, especially since there is the fear that a lot of “nice” players may be holding back the ones that could drive the direction of the franchise. In my last column I broke down how I would like the playing time to be divided at each position. But my hope—heavy for Andrew Wiggins and 20 or so minutes for Zach LaVine with players like Budinger and Kevin Martin squeezed out—may be too much to ask, especially for a team I am afraid is mired in a stubborn identity crisis, a philosophy shared by no one except for the man in charge.
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This is an issue that needs to be sorted out because there’s more at stake. Even though I thought there was too much depth last season, it wasn’t at the expense of something bigger. It was like accumulating guys simply for the sake of stockpiling. And that’s what they’ve got now, but it’s laden with potential and possibility.
In the last column I said that in order for prized rookie Andrew Wiggins to get the minutes both he and the franchise needs, the majority of them would have to be at shooting guard until the ridiculous logjam at small forward could be worked out either with transactions or clear merit on the floor. Wiggins playing at the two would probably be at the expense of LaVine, but the jury is still out on whether he is at all ready to meaningfully contribute yet. Maybe LaVine will have to prove he can back up Ricky Rubio in order to get consistent minutes. Saunders has said that he would like LaVine to work at point guard too. It would be a very gradual development.
But taking the (less) wacky shooting guard situation out of it, it is still the cluster of wings at small forward that leaves any reasonable basketball observer at a loss. Corey Brewer is good but he’s limited. He’s a Spurs-kind of player that every good team needs but shouldn’t necessarily rely on. Budinger is a guy I had high hopes for when he was coming out of Arizona, but he can’t stay healthy and hasn’t made much of a mark in the league even at age 26. He shows flashes, but with their depth, simply showing occasional flashes of big time athleticism and shooting isn’t going to make him a constant in the rotation. He’s being shopped, and if I were the Wolves I would think about making a deal merely to streamline the position a little.
Then there’s the impressive, if limited, Robbie Hummel, who I remarked often looked better than Corey Brewer last season and shot 36 percent from three, which is sorely needed on this team. Of course outside shooting shouldn’t be a problem when we are arguing about a surplus of wings, but at 26th in the NBA, it certainly is.
And what about last year’s rookie Shabazz Muhammad? He gave the impression of an empty, volume scorer who didn’t contribute much else. I’ve never quite known what to make of him, given an unusually stocky build but still looking quite skilled. I think he has to play so the Wolves can make an honest evaluation, but I just don’t see more than 15 minutes a game. I think the more well-rounded Robbie Hummel will play a more prominent role than Muhammad. Besides, I always felt that Muhammad was the guy the Wolves felt they “had” to take after missing out on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the 2013 NBA Draft.
I also think something could come of rookie Glenn Robinson III, but barring a trade and a significant injury, I don’t think there is going to be any room for him this season. But I’m going to keep an eye on him and I hope the Wolves feel the same about his potential. If Tim Hardaway Jr. can make an impact in New York, then I feel good about Robinson.
The maddening part is all of this is based on Andrew Wiggins playing a significant chunk of time at shooting guard. If he doesn’t, it is only going to muddy the waters further and put more pressure on the Wolves to make moves to clear space and admit a rebuild. I’d like to see both Brewer and Budinger be moved; I think Brewer might fetch a nice return to a team at the deadline. Selfish as it may seem, every move they make has to be viewed through a Wiggins-oriented lens, and this franchise cant apologize for that.