Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 takeaways from Game 2 vs. Rockets

1. Gerald Green‘s big night exemplifies Wolves’ core issue

Gerald Green is not Paul George. He is not Andre Iguodala, or even Danny Green. But he is a wing, and he is good enough to do what he did in Game 2, scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds while shooting 5-of-12 from deep.

It didn’t have to be this way. Green went unsigned last summer, and remained a free agent two months into the season. That’s when the Rockets, already loaded with 3-and-D guys like P.J. Tucker, Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute, came calling. With injuries piling up and an organizational mentality that you can never have too many 3-point shooters, court-runners and lengthy defenders, adding Green was an easy call.

The Wolves entered the season with one elite wing in Jimmy Butler. After that, they have the shooting and defensively challenged Andrew Wiggins, the efficiency, defense and size-challenged Jamal Crawford, and Shabazz Muhammad.

Tom Thibodeau clearly does not value 3-and-D wings, but he does know he needs bodies to play the 2 and 3 when Butler and Wiggins sit.

Nemanja Bjelica played 1,276 possessions at small forward (per Cleaning the Glass), almost as many as he did at his natural position of power forward (1,414). Marcus Georges-Hunt got 354 non garbage-time possessions in. Nowhere along the way did Thibodeau considering adding Green, who could have helped with his team’s league-low 8.0 made 3s per game or its No. 22-ranked defense.

Instead, he made a different midseason signing — Derrick Rose. The veteran guard masquerading as a wing had three of his shots blocked and was absolutely roasted by Paul in Game 2, while Green finished as a +27.

Next: Full two-round 2018 NBA Mock Draft

Maybe the Wolves will hire a full-time GM next year, who understands things like floor-spacing and roster balance. Or, at the very least, maybe they’ll invite Green (or someone like him) to training camp.