Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 issues with trading for Myles Turner

Questions for the Minnesota Timberwolves: 3. Could bringing in Turner hurt the young core?

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Indiana is only interested in dealing with Minnesota. Let’s say that they are ok with waiting a few years to reap the rewards in the draft of any deal that’s made. Finally, let’s say that the Pacers are ok giving up a key piece of their franchise, at least on the defensive end, for a couple of guys who could play productive minutes off the bench. They don’t want Reid, McDaniels, or Jaylen Nowell. They’re ok with Okogie, Culver, Hernangomez, and Davis. With all of this there’s still one problem that Minnesota would have to consider: how will Turner’s minutes affect the bench players’ development?

Two guys are at a particular risk here for seeing a diminished role if Turner is brought in: Reid and McDaniels. Both of these young men showed tremendous potential last season, and for Reid, he took his game to a level many people were questioning if he could reach at the time of the draft.

Jaden McDaniels played averaged a stat line of 6.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.0 blocks, and 0.6 steals per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from 3-point range, and 60.0 percent from the line. Much like Turner, McDaniels struggles offensively occasionally. However, he proved himself to be the defensive spark plug the team needed off of the bench and was able to turn that into a primary starter role in the power forward slot. If Turner comes in, that could put McDaniels newfound role in jeopardy.

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What could possibly be the worst part of this though is that if Turner comes in, whether or not he gets the start, is that trying to balance the roles of him and McDaniels would almost certainly leave Naz Reid for the wayside. Reid had a career year last season, averaging career-highs in nearly every category in his sophomore season. Plus, his defensive awareness and offensive ability made him a great fit next to Karl-Anthony Towns in the lineup.

However, should Turner come in–and we’ll say just for the sake of argument he gets the starting position–that would leave McDaniels, Reid, and some combination of Hernangomez and Jake Layman fighting for just two backup big men positions. Having to split those minutes could hurt Reid’s development, and it would almost certainly mean we don’t see any of Reid and Towns playing together, and see more Reid coming in to give Towns a rest.

Myles Turner is an attractive prospect, for sure, and bringing him in wouldn’t throw Minnesota into any sort of major, uncontrollable chaos. However, we’ve seen time and time again what happens when a team prioritizes a good starting line over a deep and developed bench. While it may not seem like a lot, throwing Minnesota’s bench rotation into limbo, just as the team and those players were finally starting to find a groove, should be cause for hesitation, at least, when thinking about trading for Turner.