There are better teams in the West, and the Timberwolves are certainly not a top-tier western conference post-season contender, but I do think they’ve got a roster that’s going to put them in a position to be one of the best regular season (regular season) teams in the WC.
Starters: Conley, Ant, Jaden, KAT, Gobert.
Bench (players regularly in the rotation): Shake Milton, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Troy Brown Jr, Kyle Anderson, Naz Reid.
Deep bench: Jordan McLaughlin, Josh Minott, Leonard Miller, Luka Garza.
Their 5-man bench rotation is extremely versatile on both ends, although perhaps lacking in size in the front court. You have two legitimate self-creators/microwave scorers in Shake and Naz. You collectively get high level playmaking/distributing on the floor from Shake, NAW, and Anderson. NAW is quietly developing into one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA and Anderson is a versatile, high level on-ball and help defender. And you get quality 3 point shooting across the board (Shake shot 38% from 3 last season, NAW 38%, TBJ 38%, Slow Mo 41%, Naz 35%).
Their deep bench has a ton of promise too. Minott is an athletic, 20 year old wing who averaged 18-8-3 and 2 stocks in the g-league last season and whose athleticism/motor/defensive versatility is going to earn him a spot in the rotation long-term. Leonard Miller is 19 year old versatile wing who can handle the ball, defend, and score and is shaping up to be a big part of the team’s future. McLaughlin and Garza are both legitimate NBA-quality players that could (and did last year/prior years) easily slot into the regular rotation if injuries arise. Although Mclaughlin dealt with a nagging calf injury most of the season last year, he’s a high level backup PG who can facilitate well and run the offense as a pass-first, high IQ guard. Garza saw limited action but was an efficient, versatile scorer and good rebounder (per 36 of 27-9-3 on 54-36-79 shooting splits) that filled in well for KAT last season.
You have high-quality/versatile scorers, PoA and help defenders, shooters, and playmakers at all levels of the roster and it’s a roster made of almost exclusively returning Timberwolves players. They have a legitimate 12-man rotation and eight if not nine guys who will be able to earn honest playoff rotation minutes this season. I think the Timberwolves are going to surprise a lot of people in the regular season, unless they’re ravaged by injuries I think 50 wins is not out of the question (although I think their post-season ceiling is one series win).
I agree with you u/EsotericPotato and one of KAT/Rudy is gonna be on the court pretty much at all times, so they’ll have enough size with their bench rotation. NAW has really come on as a player. He has looked fantastic with the Timberwolves and I think Shake is a great addition…he does a lot well. He can facilitate a little, he can definitely slash and pressure the rim, can shoot, can defend…he’s a good player. McLaughlin is a good player and will probably have his moments of time depending on matchups and rhythm of a game.
Wolves have fantastic depth, Ant has taken a leap it appears, Rudy and KAT are healthy. Wolves offense was quite a bit better with Conley last season, struggled before it. His table setting and off ball shooting took their offense to another level. This is the best team in Minnesota in a very long time; since the KG/Spree/Cassell team.