What the Timberwolves' depth looks like after Monte Morris trade

There are now nine or 10 players who will play on most nights.

Author:
Joe Nelson
Publish date:
Feb 7, 2024 5:21 PM EST

The Timberwolves on Wednesday reportedly traded Shake Milton, Troy Brown Jr. and a 2030 second-round pick to the Detroit Pistons for combo guard Monte Morris.

Morris, who has tied to Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly through their days together in Denver, gives Minnesota a much-needed scoring boost off the bench. Let's dive into the depth chart to see what head coach Chris Finch has to work with...

Point guard

Starter: Mike Conley
Backups: Monte Morris, Jordan McLaughlin

Shooting guard

Starter: Anthony Edwards
Backups: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Wendell Moore Jr., Jaylen Clark, Daishen Nix

Small forward

Starter: Jaden McDaniels
Backups: Josh Minott

Power forward

Starter: Karl-Anthony Towns
Backups: Kyle Anderson, Leonard Miller

Center

Starter: Rudy Gobert
Backups: Naz Reid, Luka Garza

The reality in the NBA today is that it's a positionless game, so the depth above is really just a formality. For example, in the real world Conley, Morris, McLaughlin, Alexander-Walker, Edwards and Anderson can all run the point.

There are basically 10 guys who will play, though it could be nine if Morris' arrival relegates McLaughlin to even more of a bench role. The 10 include the starters (Conley, Edwards, McDaniels, Towns, Gobert) and five reserves: Reid, Morris, Anderson, Alexander-Walker and maybe McLaughlin.

Morris is a significant addition because the Timberwolves have typically played 8-9 guys most nights, with the ninth man being McLaughlin while the top eight have played the bulk of the minutes. Morris is a 3-point threat (career 38.9%) who should help spread the floor whenever he's in the game.

There could be more moves to shake up the roster further, but Wednesday's trade for Morris was an addition with very little subtraction considering Milton and Brown Jr. rarely played.