The Timberwolves need to act fast to fix their roster need.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have moved aggressively this offseason, mostly in service of securing a proper backcourt partner for Anthony Edwards, which they accomplished by trading for LaMelo Ball and Josh green, but in the process the Timberwolves had to make trades that have left a major hole in their roster.
With Julius Randle traded to the Brooklyn Nets, largely to cut salary, and Naz Reid traded to the Hornets to facilitate the arrival of Ball and Green, the Timberwolves have suddenly deprived themselves of their top two power forwards and the solution to that hole with the current roster recreates a problem Minnesota was trying to solve.
Looking at the present lineup, the obvious solution is to shift Jaden McDaniels from the three, where he played the majority of last season, to the four and in the process move Anthony Edwards to the three, in the process elevating Ayo Dosunmu to the starting shooting guard slot from the bench.
Having to shift so many Timberwolves up a slot presents Minnesota with the issue of playing Edwards out of position again, this time as a small forward rather than as a point guard, which is the issue they were trying to solve by bringing in Ball.
Chris Finch Speaks Up
It also forces McDaniels to play out of position, though he does have the physicality to adapt to playing. However, when head coach Chris Finch anticipates what his starting five will look like, regularly playing McDaniels as a power forward isn't a part of it.
"I don't immediately envision Jaden just moving over and playing the four," Finch said (via Christopher Hine of the Minnesota Star Tribune). "While I see at times he'll play there and maybe play a good number of minutes there, I don't see that right off the bat and I don't necessarily, in my mind's eye, see that as a starting lineup with him there."
The Timberwolves don't have an experienced-enough second option at the pwoer forward to fill in for McDaniels, especially with Kyle Anderson departing the team as well in free agency, signing with the Toronto Raptors.
How To Fix the Four
The other option is to seek out a four in free agency. The best options there, other than the unlikely-to-be-attainable utility man that is LeBron James, are Jonathan Kuminga, Kelly Olynk and Maxi Kleber, and all four of those options would almost certainly send the Timberwolves into the second apron.
It may be a risk they have to take though because at least for now, the Timberwolves are standing on shaky ground when it comes to the state of their front court.
