The Timberwolves have a HUGE Secret…

The Timberwolves have a HUGE Secret…

The Minnesota Timberwolves have a huge secret, and that is that they don’t need to make any moves right now. Their young core, their drafts over the last few years have been exceptional, and they can now let these guys develop and replace some of the veterans that are making more money and are older, and they fit better into a 23-year-old Anthony Edwards timeline. This Timberwolves team has guys like Rob Dillingham, Terence Shannon Jr., and Jaylen Clark who they’ve just drafted as well as Yoan Bearing who they just got this year to pair with some veterans like Julius Randall and then Nas Reed and Anthony Edwards are still very young. This team doesn’t even need to make a splash and I’m calling it right now. Their splash is going to be the secondyear leap of Terrence Shannon Jr. Now, if you’ve watched this channel before, you know I’ve raved about TSJ. I’ve begged for Chris Finch to play him more in the playoffs and I mean for good reason. In game three, the route that they have of the OKC Thunder, he scored 15 points, two rebounds, and an assist in the first three quarters. So, it wasn’t like it was garbage time. He only played 12 minutes in that game. All of which were meaningful rotation minutes until right here when he hits this three. But, I mean, that’s still a little bit too early in the modern NBA to pull the starters. In games 3, four, and five, he had 12 points in 12 minutes a night, shooting 53% from the field and 38% from three on three attempts a game. I was huge on TSJ. And remember, the Wolves outscored the Thunder during games 3 through 5 and still lost in five. But games 3 through 5 were the ones that TSJ played. He only played 32 games in the regular season, however, averaging 4.3 points per game, 1.5 rebounds, and one assist in.5 turnovers in about 10.6 minutes per game. Shot 48% from the field, and 36% from three on one attempt per game. So, he’s a guy that is going to be a microwave score off this bench. He’s not going to start. He’s gonna be probably the seventh man behind Nas Reed. And I mean, talk about a one-two punch of Nas Reed and Terrence Shannon Jr. off the bench. Chris Finch just doesn’t like to play rookies. And that’s why none of these guys played much last year. Rob Dillingham’s another guy, man, he has a ton of talent. Remember, he was a top 10 pick in last year’s class. Yes, it was a weak class, but still, he is a top 10 pick. He’s about 6’2, 176 lbs. So, he is very small, and that probably contributed a little bit into why he didn’t get much PT, but they gave up two first round picks essentially. Well, a firstrounder and then a pick swap for Rob Dillingham. So, they best believe they’re going to be trying to get a return on their investment. You see the stats from last year. 44% shooting from the field, 34% from three. Not terrible, not the best in the world either, but the skills were on display. The talent, the upside was on display when he got his chances in 49 games last year, like this one against the Jazz where he was straight cooking. I mean, we had a little bit of a stretch there where guys were missing time. Julius Riddle, Dat Vincenzo, guys like that were missing time and we got to see some Rob Dillingham, some Jaylen Clark, some Terrence Shannon Jr. and they look good and that’s why I think the Wolves were confident letting some guys go. Jaylen Clark is 6’4 with a 6’10 wingspan, weighs about 210 lbs and played in 40 games last year. He’s a guy that has been not dominating the summer league, but he has been a menace on the defensive side of the ball. If you’ve watched any of the Wolves summer league games, he averaged four points and almost two rebounds last year while shooting 47% from the field and 43% from three in the regular season. Um he’s a guy that can shoot the three ball. And he was a very late first round pick out of UCLA, but he has a ton of upside. He’s still very young. He can defend. He’s got good arms, very strong base, almost like a Lou Dort type of player. And then who can forget Yoan Bearing Jay, who they just drafted, who is an absolute monster on the defensive side of the ball. Guess that was sped up a little bit, but I mean just watching Baron Jay play, watching him fight through these screens, chest up Vmei, who is a secondyear player, and just absolutely put him in jail. And remember, this is his first summer league game. This was the first action he had in an NBA jersey sprinting the floor. The young man from France is phenomenal. He can absolutely protect the rim at 7 foot with that 75 in wingspan. Ridiculously long, very athletic. His agility and mobility for a big at seven foot is absolutely ridiculous. It is pretty much second to none. I mean, watch him slide his feet. Watch him flip those hips and take the contact and then still be straight up and get the block against Mi right there and then take off and run the floor. Watch him play drop coverage right here against I believe that’s Antonio Reeves getting the block but having enough IQ to realize, all right, hey, I’m in drop coverage. I’ve got to step up and stop this dribble penetration. He does that and he wins a possession back for his team. And then right here, this is where he is best as a helpside defender being able to slide over and get a block and in this case volleyball spike it into the first row. Baron Jay can be very good. Now, it’s going to take some time. He is not a guy that’s going to step in next year and play. He is probably going to have to see some G-League time. Yes, his first summer league game was absolutely ridiculous and had some Wolves fans being delusional. He had 11 points, eight rebounds, seven blocks, two assists, or two steals, and an assist, excuse me. And he did all that in 23 minutes, which is ridiculous. But like I said, he’s not going to be a guy that plays every day next year. He is going to be maybe some spot minutes here and there. His offense right now is limited to just catching the ball and dunking it essentially. Um, but the Wolves really wanted him. They reportedly tried to trade up to ensure they could get Baron Jay. So that is a good sign. That is a sign they are willing to develop this guy. And I mean, not there’s not sevenfooters growing on trees that have the athleticism and mobility that this guy’s got. However, they still have a four-time defensive player of the year and Rudy Goar on their team. And Gobear, who will only be 33 next year, still has a couple of good years left in the tank at least. So, yeah, Baron Jay is not going to be starting anytime soon in Minnesota unless they decide to move on from Gobear and his three-year $111 million contract. However, like I said, I don’t really see that happening anytime soon because he is still a very, very functioning rotational piece. 12 points a game, 12 rebounds, almost two blocks in 33 minutes a game. Shot 67% from the field and from the line. He’s a guy that he can still play defense. Look at him getting out in passing lanes here, getting steals, running the floor. And with Mike Connley, these are the two veterans on the Wolves right now, or at least the super veterans, I guess you should say. Um, Connley is really old. Goar not quite as old, but yeah. Go Bear is still going to be the starter. He’s going nowhere. Unlike Nik Alexander Walker, who they let walk for a four-year $62 million contract, averaged about 10 a game last year. 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and six steals in 25 minutes a game. Shot 44% from the field, and 38% from three. And yes, they’ll miss Alexander Walker. He was a good piece for them, especially coming off of the bench. He could plug and play when they needed him to start. However, he really showed up in the Western Conference Finals, and that’s where he made his money. He averaged 12 points a game, 2.6 rebounds, 2.6 assist, and shot 41% from the field. That, you know, that that’s why he got that contract is because he was elite in his role. 6’5 with a 69 wingspan. Nquille is a guy that is going to go to Atlanta and flourish. He’s going to be a guy that they can play alongside of Trey Young and he can be one of the better perimeter defenders in the league as well as get you 10 to 12 points a night with increased playing time. However, the Wolves just simply didn’t need to pay him anymore. They couldn’t pay him, but they didn’t need to pay him because they have a really solid core of guys that are 26 or younger. All the guys pictured in this are 26 years old or younger. This is your core for the next 10 years. That’s who you need to focus on. Nil is a little bit older than that and also his contract kind of hit at the wrong time because it was the same time as Nas Reed and they essentially had to choose to kill Alexander Walker or Nas Reed and they chose Nas Reed and I think that is the correct decision because Nas is a guy they signed to a 5year $125 million contract and it’s a lot rare to see a 610 guy moving like a guard that can do everything you need a guard to do than a 6’5 wing with good athleticism and a good wingspan. They literally have two of those with Taran Shannon Jr. and Jaylen Clark. Nas Reed. They don’t have another Nas Reed. 14 points a game, six rebounds, 2.3 assists, shot 46% from the field and 38% from three last year on 6.2 attempts a game. And he’s a guy that is going to be one of your better rotation pieces, right? He’s going to be your sixman. He can probably start in games and I would like to see him start. He’s getting paid $125 million. I’d like to see him in some action as the starter. Uh we’ll see what they do with Gobear because you can’t I mean you can play Nas Reed and Gobear at the same time, but then you’d have to bring Bear and Jay off the bench. We’ll see what happens. Joyce Randle’s back. Um I I love that signing for them. Yes, he got a bag, but he really deserves it. I mean, he was the number two guy on this Wolves team this year. Jade McDaniels is back as well. They didn’t trade Dante Denzo. Really like that move adding to the depth. So yeah, it’s up to Ant. Can he take the leap and can he get them over the hump in the Western Conference Finals? They’ve gone to back to back. We’ll see what Ant can do. He’s got a squad around him though. With that being said, that’s going to be it for today’s video. Thank you so much for watching. Make sure to hit the like button, leave me a comment down below, and hit that subscribe button if you did enjoy any point. And with that being said, thanks so much for watching today’s video.

This video looks at the Minnesota Timberwolves and how they have a few massive secrets with Terrence Shannon Jr and Rob Dillingham with Anthony Edwards and others
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