Minnesota won the summer with the LaMelo Ball trade, but the plan for replacing Julius Randle and Naz Reid up front is a short-term patch that could follow this team deep into the season.
Nobody in the front office would take back the summer the Timberwolves just had.
A 49-33 season ended with a six game loss to San Antonio in the conference semifinals, and the response was bold, with the offense handed a real engine next to Anthony Edwards at last.
The trades that landed LaMelo Ball deserve the praise they are getting.
The plan for the frontcourt those trades emptied out is a different story, because the replacement for two departed power forwards amounts to one veteran on a one year deal and a second year big man.
The Backcourt Bet Made Sense
Minnesota traded Julius Randle to Brooklyn in late June, then days later sent Naz Reid, a first round pick, three first round pick swaps and three second round picks to Charlotte for Ball and Josh Green.
Ball averaged 20.1 points and 7.1 assists for Charlotte last season, and putting that playmaking next to Edwards, who averaged 28.8 points a game, gives Chris Finch a duo that can carry the offense.
Finch has already talked about putting the ball in his new guard's hands early and trusting him, and there is a strong case that Ball lifts the offense to another level on nights when the halfcourt attack used to stall.
The idea behind the summer is not the problem.
A One-Year Answer at Power Forward
What left town was the whole power forward rotation.
Randle gave the Wolves 21.1 points and 6.7 rebounds a game last season, Reid was the first big off the bench behind him and Rudy Gobert, and the man brought in to cover for both is Trey Lyles, a 30 year old veteran whose one year deal became official on July 10.
He is the first legitimate power forward added to this roster, and he averaged about 13 points and shot 42.1 percent from three for Real Madrid last season, so the fit is real, but one year of Lyles is a patch rather than a plan.
The main young big behind him and Gobert is Joan Beringer, a second year player, and Gobert, who played 76 games and pulled down 11.5 rebounds a night, cannot cover two frontcourt spots alone.
The position has already been called the biggest weakness left on this roster, and the man who built it never pretended otherwise.
Tim Connelly said at Ball's introductory press conference that losing Reid hurt more than losing the unprotected 2033 pick, per Dunking with Wolves.
"He's an elite power forward and also an elite guy. So that was the more hurtful part," Connelly said.
Why the Patch Might Not Hold
The Ball trade put Minnesota at the first apron, which blocks meaningful outside signings, and points to Green's expiring contract, worth about $14.6 million, as a piece Connelly could move later.
Until that move arrives, the Wolves will ask a short term signing and two kids to hold up the frontcourt on a team with conference finals hopes.
Lyles can shoot and the offense should hum, but playoff basketball punishes the thinnest spot on a roster, and everybody in the West can see where Minnesota's is.
