who will be the bench leader?

Blue alert, the Timberwolves want to win. The stars are there, very present in Chris Finch’s five majors, but we know it… obviously it’s not enough to beat everyone. We have to resist for a long time, and for this of course we count on reinforcements, rotations, and very often it always takes one to be the leader, the one who takes responsibility when he comes off the bench, and who sometimes is. also led to finish games. So in Minnesota, who can play this role?

Tyler Herro in Miami, Cam Johnson in Phoenix, Lou Williams everywhere he’s gone in his entire life.

There is always a need for a sixth man of quality in a franchise, the one who tells the stars ” take a break guys I’ll take care of it“, The one you can rest on when you want to rest, the one that will hit his fifteen points off the bench to remind the opponent that he has to be on guard for 48 minutes. In Minnesota, the one who has played this role so far has been Malik Beasley. Great. The boy has since been sent to Utah in exchange with Rudy Gobert, and the Wolves bench finds himself orphaned of his baton and will have to replace him. But by whom?

Well it’s pretty simple, for the Wolves there are several possibilities but we can only answer this question during the season. So let’s take a look at who is a candidate and who has the best chance of success. Naz Reid, first of all, why not? NR has shown for three seasons and especially the last two to be able to lead a lot in position 5, with a relatively limited playing time: 8.3 points in 15 minutes instead of Karl-Anthony Towns, what more could you ask for? For example, the 11.2 points in 19 minutes offered the previous season are good. With the arrival of Rudy Gobert Naz Reid will suffer even more from the defensive confrontation, already stung, if not weak, however not strong in his game. It is therefore possible that it is he who suffers most from the arrival of the French and the new organization of the Wolves.

Another bench player could be the big winner of this exchange. Jaylen Nowell he stayed, he saw Malik Beasley leave and so he should have more playing time than last season. Rather, it was the Wolves frontcourt that was significantly strengthened, not the backcourt, and therefore could benefit from that. His coach, Chris Finch, mentions him more and more in his plans for the future, even sees him as a young man who absolutely needs to be developed. And the player himself is aware of the new role he will have to adapt to:

“This trade has certainly opened up many opportunities for me. My job is not to take it for granted, to keep improving and giving my best every time I’m on the pitch. […] I am happy with this challenge, I am mentally and physically ready. I am very excited to have a new role this season. – Jaylen Nowell

Jaylen Nowell has a skill set which differentiates him from the other players of this bench of the Wolves. He is the only one who can create his shot himself, is a good isolation player – 48% successful shooting in this context, third on the team behind KAT and D-Lo – and can shoot relatively well from the parking lot: 38% for two attempts per game, we do better but also much worse, especially as a reserve. And even if he wants to avoid thinking about it, Jaylen Nowell will be a free agent at the end of the season and will have to prove he deserves a new contract. Becoming the offensive leader of the bench of the Wolves can only help in this sense.

No other player on the bench has Jaylen Nowell’s offensive skills, but being a leader can also come through defense and Kyle Anderson known. After all, these Timberwolves in Tim Connelly version have a strong point: no one can score against them, moreover it is simple that they will not collect a basket of the season. They were already good in this area last season, perhaps it was a surprise, and the inclusion of Rudy Gobert will inevitably improve everything. So, inevitably, this energy must also come from the bench. Austin Rivers, for example, is able to follow the movement, but Kyle Anderson looks even stronger in this area, while still managing to score points when needed. He could therefore become the mental leader of this bench, the one we will rely on, not to shake the opposing defenses but to continue to suffocate the scorers who would need some air to exist. Small mention also for Jaden McDaniels … and if he was not finally the owner as expected? Well if that were the case, he would come from the bench to blow up everything, in attack as in defense, and the question would not even arise: would he be the bench leader of these Minnesota Timberwolves version 2023. But it would be too easy, and nothing is ever easy in the NBA.

Each team has its own sixth man, and the Wolves have yet to find him. But we would like to put a small coin on Jaylen Nowell, the big winner of the swap for Rudy Gobert this summer and capable of being very good off the bench attack.