Cole Aldrich provided depth for the Minnesota Timberwolves at a thin center position during the course of the 2016-17 season.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have a very bright future at the center position. Depth at that spot wasn’t as strong as the team would’ve liked heading into the 2016-17 season, mainly due to Nikola Pekovic sitting out all of this season. Because of that, the Wolves added Cole Aldrich to the team to provide some much-needed relief to Karl-Anthony Towns. Aldrich gave 100 percent of his effort every minute he played.
Cole Aldrich has potential to be a guy to put up five points and five rebounds off the bench. He recently accomplished that a couple of seasons ago playing 61 games with the New York Knicks. At 28 years old, the Minnesota Timberwolves are the seventh team he has played for. Minnesota is a great place for Aldrich to settle down because he grew up in Minnesota and graduated from Bloomington Jefferson High School.
This season, Aldrich played in 62 games for the Wolves. He did not start in any of those game but 62 games is the most he has ever appeared in during an NBA season.
2016-17 Stats
Aldrich played the 11th most minutes on the team this season. His stats are not great but he was a functional backup center to Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng.
Despite playing in the most games in a season of his career, Aldrich took a hit to the amount of minutes played per game compared to his previous two seasons. Similarly, his rebounds, assists, blocks and points per game significantly dropped from where he was trending.
Below are Aldrich’s stats from this season.
| Season | Age | G | GS | MP | FG% | 2P% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 28 | 62 | 0 | 8.6 | .523 | .523 | .682 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.7 |
| Career | 318 | 23 | 10.5 | .531 | .531 | .748 | 3.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 3.3 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/28/2017.
It is surprising that Aldrich played such a small amount of minutes per game — especially considering the Minnesota Timberwolves’ overall depth in the frontcourt. He played more minutes per game with the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2015-16 season.
Although he did not have the best statistical season, Aldrich played with high energy and gave the Wolves excellent effort on defense. He is a big body that can bang with the best of them in the paint when used correctly.
Role for Cole Aldrich heading into next season
Cole Aldrich will have a similar role for the Wolves next season. Expect him to increase his stat line as he gets more comfortable on the team during his second season with them. Averaging five points and five rebounds a game is an ideal target for Aldrich. That will greatly improve a bench that is currently one of the worst in the NBA.
Next: 2017 NBA Mock Draft: Post-Lottery edition
In conclusion, Cole Aldrich is a serviceable big man who can provide quality bench minutes. His production can only improve as he looks to play a role in the Minnesota Timberwolves ending the playoff drought next season.