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Minnesota Timberwolves: Is There Still Hope For Anthony Bennett?

By Greg Chin

Jul 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Canada forward Anthony Bennett (10) reacts after a dunk against the Dominican Republic in the men
Jul 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Canada forward Anthony Bennett (10) reacts after a dunk against the Dominican Republic in the men /
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After the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Anthony Bennett with the first overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, his career in the NBA has been on a downward spiral ever since. His rookie season in the NBA was a disaster, and he was promptly shipped out to the Minnesota Timberwolves alongside Andrew Wiggins in the Kevin Love trade.

Many predicted that he could find some success with the young Timberwolves team, where he would see more playing time, and ultimately blossom into the player that the Cavs thought he could become. But another poor season awaited him, and despite the promise of more opportunities, Bennett saw an increase of just 2.9 minutes per game with the Wolves and continued his career as a bench player.

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The nightmare continued as it appears as though the Wolves are rumored to be open to trading away Bennett, but have yet to find any takers.

If the Wolves are able to find a taker, this will be his third team in three seasons. Just why is everyone so quick to give up on Bennett? And if this trend continues, does Bennett even have a future in this league?

The biggest problem with Bennett is that he is a “tweener” – not big enough to defend the beefier power forwards in the league, but not quick enough to defend small forwards either. At 6’8”, he’s better suited as a small forward, but doesn’t quite have the skills necessary to flourish in that position. Heading into the draft, his three-point shooting was one of his best skills, but even that has deserted him in the NBA (career average of 26.3 percent from long range so far).

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Timberwolves incoming ownership have one job to keep the Wolves alive /

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    • His defenders will be quick to point out that Bennett has had a torrid time with weird injuries since he was drafted, which has prevented him from a lack of consistent playing time. The list includes: sleep apnea, asthma, weight issues and even poor eyesight (which required surgery to fix). His extensive (and weird) injury history brings out some very interesting questions: Did Cleveland even bother to do a proper medical exam before they drafted Bennett? And if so, were they aware of these issues?

    It’s true: the lack of playing time can be attributed to the weird list of injuries, but it isn’t the sole reason. In his first season, Bennett looked out of shape and his mannerisms on the court implied that he wasn’t a good fit at all. He lost weight in the offseason and looked better, but still the minutes never came for him in Minnesota, even after starter Thaddeus Young was traded to the Brooklyn Nets.

    He spent most of his time coming off the bench, starting just three games, and despite the Wolves’ plans of tanking, head coach (and president) Flip Saunders chose not to play him more or try to develop him.

    So where does Bennett go from here? The major criticism in his rookie season was that he didn’t lose enough weight, so he spent the offseason cutting weight. Despite his weight (and eyesight) no longer being an issue, he still struggled in his second season. Bennett has released a few workout videos this offseason, and while the initial results show some promise, it’s the same thing we saw the last offseason when people were hopeful after he posted a few pictures of his leaner look.

    Sadly, it may be the same story with Bennett all over again. He teases promise with offseason workouts, has a few good preseason games, only to disappoint during the regular season. He had an impressive performance for Canada in their recent Pan-Am Games, but the standard of the tournament really speaks for itself when Team USA’s best players were Anthony Randolph and Ryan Hollins.

    I started off as a Bennett-defender. I reasoned with critics when they panned his rookie season, citing injuries, a lack of opportunity and the need for patience. When he was moved to Minnesota, I saw promise – he would be given ample playing time to prove himself, and could perhaps shine alongside teammate Andrew Wiggins. Unfortunately, the poor results continued and now, he looks to be on his way out again.

    Anthony Bennett, please prove me wrong.

    Next: Minnesota Timberwolves: Grading The Offseason

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