Anthony Edwards Speaks on Jaden McDaniels’ New Role This Season

Guard Anthony Edwards did not need long to answer when he was asked what will be different for forward Jaden McDaniels this season.

After Wednesday's 128-106 preseason loss to the Detroit Pistons at Target Center, the Minnesota Timberwolves star said the plan is to get McDaniels more involved in the offense, and he called him one of the best two-way players in the NBA, if not the best.

Edwards pointed to more ball-screen actions for McDaniels and said the team wants to give him the ball in the post when a smaller player ends up guarding him.

He set the bar high in comments shared by a Timberwolves reporter after the game, saying, "Just him getting more touches, being more involved, I think he gonna average 20, 25 points easy."

McDaniels averaged 14.8 points per game last season, the best mark of his six seasons in the league, so Edwards is talking about a huge step.

He also shot 41.2% from three, another career high, and head coach Chris Finch has tied that growth to the Wolves letting him handle the ball more a year ago.

In a separate answer on Wednesday, Edwards said opponents try to put their worst defenders on McDaniels and forward Jonathan Kuminga, and he wants the Wolves to attack those mismatches.

The Wolves agreed to trade forward Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team deal in June, and later that week they agreed to send center Naz Reid and draft picks to the Charlotte Hornets for point guard LaMelo Ball.

Kuminga then agreed to a two-year deal in August with a chance to start at power forward, while Ball's arrival lets Edwards go back to shooting guard after he spent last season playing point guard.

With Randle and Reid gone, a lot of shots are open for someone to take, and McDaniels is the obvious player to pick them up.

He was not getting enough credit over the summer even after his best season, and I expect that to change once teams have to treat him as a real scoring threat every night.

I think 20 to 25 points a night is too much to ask from a player who has never averaged more than 14.8, but a jump into the high teens looks very reachable with this roster.

Finch has said he wants to keep Edwards and Ball on the floor together as much as he can, and with two guards drawing that much attention, McDaniels should see plenty of open shots.

Guard Donte DiVincenzo is still out with an Achilles injury, so the Wolves will need McDaniels to score more while still doing his usual work on defense, which is a lot to put on one player.

The Wolves wrap up the preseason in Chicago against the Bulls on Friday night before opening the regular season at Miami on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

I want to see McDaniels get a few post touches and some ball screens in that first week, because if Edwards is right about his role, McDaniels has a real shot at the best scoring season of his career.