Minnesota Timberwolves starting lineup: Locks, fringe, potential break-ins

Minnesota Timberwolves: Locks for starters

As it stands right now, Minnesota has three locks for the starting role in Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russel, and Ricky Rubio.

The most obvious of these choices is Towns. KAT is a former-first overall pick for the Minnesota Timberwolves and has been a starter since day one. There’s no reason to believe that’s going to end this season, even with the Timberwolves bolstering their big man rotation with the addition of Ed Davis.

Towns has seen significant development over his last five seasons, and there’s no reason now, with the guidance of Davis and Rubio, that he won’t take even more strides in his progression in his sixth season.

Russell is next, with him already securing the team’s starting point guard spot from last year. However, this year, Russell will likely be moving down to the shooting guard spot to allow Rubio to take over the point position, as that’s what suits his style of play better.

Even at the 2-guard spot, Russell’s offensive skillset is going to be on display this year without a doubt. And, with Rubio as his running partner, Russell’s defensive abilities should see an increase this year as well.

Arguably, Rubio is the odd man out in this three-man lineup. There’s a good argument to be made that, with the huge payday the team gave Malik Beasley, that Beasley would be in this spot. However, with his off-court issues and a likely suspension by the league, it’s likely that Rubio would fill the starting role.

Adding to this, the Rubio that the Wolves traded for at the draft is a different one that they acquired all those years ago. In Rubio’s last season in Minnesota, he averaged 11.1 points, 9.1 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game. Last season with the Phoenix Suns, he averaged 13.0 points, 8.8 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game.

Rubio’s defensive and passing numbers took a little bit of a hit over those three seasons, but it was in exchange for a great increase in his offensive repertoire as his shooting numbers increased from 40.2 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from 3-point range to 41.5 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from 3-point range. Rubio’s high basketball IQ, passing acumen, and re-energized shooting ability is going to come as a major help to Minnesota’s new fast-paced offensive style.