How the Minnesota Timberwolves' New-Look Rotation Will Work Best

While the Minnesota Timberwolves' headlining offseason move of acquiring star guard LaMelo Ball raises the team's ceiling, it's important to not underestimate the trickle-down impact on the rotation.

In one fell swoop, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly jettisoned two-thirds of the frontcourt rotation that head coach Chris Finch had relied on over the past two seasons. And while overall success stagnated, this is still a roster that won 49 games in each of the past two regular seasons and won a total of three playoff series in that time.

As of mid-August, the starting power forward question is the most obvious vacancy created by the Ball deal and doesn't have a clear answer as of yet, but the best way to evaluate that specific situation is by taking a step back for a more holistic view at the roster and Finch's most likely rotation.

Impact on the Timberwolves' Starting Lineup

While Ball will technically be replacing the injured Donte DiVincenzo as a backcourt starter, it's probably more accurate to consider Ball as a direct replacement for Julius Randle in terms of role, scoring production and expectations.

Of course, that still leaves a hole in the starting lineup, even if it is the DiVincenzo role. At the moment, arguments could be made for Ayo Dosunmu (the best one-to-one replacement for DiVincenzo), Josh Green (an impactful role player who theoretically could play small-ball power forward), and Trey Lyles (the only true power forward on the roster). Terrence Shannon Jr. and Jaylen Clark are also theoretically options, but Shannon's all-around consistency and rebounding issues and Clark's lack of shooting ability and size will likely keep them both with the reserve unit to start the season.

Ayo Dosunmu, Minnesota Timberwolves — Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu (13) dribbles the ball against the San Antonio Spurs in the second during game six of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There are certainly similarities between DiVincenzo and Dosunmu, making a one-for-one starting lineup swap make sense on the surface. Additionally, a lineup with Dosunmu alongside both Ball and Anthony Edwards would include Jaden McDaniels at the four. Finch has already made it clear that he doesn't "immediately envision Jaden just moving over and playing the four" — of course, he went on to say that he would play "a good number of minutes there," but it sure seems like they don't plan to start him in that spot.

There's also a clear argument to be made that the bench unit needs the scoring punch that Dosunmu should provide; he averaged 14.8 points per game and shot 43.9% from beyond the arc last season between Chicago and Minnesota.

At the moment, Green and Lyles appear to be the best options. Green is just 6'6" and more of a wing, but he's a solid role player who is the perfect connective tissue between a high-usage backcourt of Ball and Edwards and McDaniels, who has seen his own usage rate rise over the last three years and is clearly the third option. Green also has familiarity with Ball and also filled a rotation role on a pair of Dallas Mavericks teams that went deep into the playoffs, playing alongside another anytime, anywhere passer in Luka Dončić.

Having Green trailing a fastbreak or standing in the corner awaiting a pass from a short-rolling Rudy Gobert will be more impactful than, say, Shannon or Clark. And the size advantage he has on Dosunmu and Clark will help both defensively and on the glass.

Lyles could be the answer, too. He wasn't in the NBA last season, is more limited defensively than Green and Dosunmu, and isn't as good of a shooter as either of them, either, but he's by far the best rebounder of the group. He also will play a low-usage role on offense and is a league average-y shooter from deep, which will matter in the flow of the half-court offense.

The guess right now is that the starters are Ball, Edwards, McDaniels, Green, and Gobert, but that Lyles will play a significant role in the frontcourt and may even start at times, depending on matchups.

Who is first off the bench for the Wolves?

Naz Reid's departure doesn't just open up a spot in the frontcourt, but it also leaves a scoring vacuum on the bench. Add in the exits of Mike Conley and Kyle Anderson, and it's inescapable that Finch will have to find new bench contributors to lean on.

If we are correct to assume that Dosunmu will remain with the bench unit as projected above and we're considering Green as a starter, the projected bench looks something like this: Dosunmu, Shannon, Clark, Lyles, Bones Hyland, Joan Beringer and rookie Isaiah Evans, not including two-way players Rocco Zikarsky, Zyon Pullin and Enrique Freeman. (The Wolves will still add at least one player to the roster on a standard contract as well.)

Dosunmu may be the only true lock for rotation minutes. As the only other lead guard on the roster, Hyland will probably claim a chunk of minutes each game behind Ball, but it would be hard to say it's a guarantee.

Beringer and Lyles are the only two backup bigs not on two-way deals. There's a chance that Finch simply plays the matchups here, but they'll probably both play on most nights. Shannon and Clark are also options for time at the four in small-ball lineups but those will likely fluctuate.

The best way to summarize the current roster? While the frontcourt options are limited, there is plenty of flexibility based on how Finch and his staff want to play.

Here are three base lineups using just nine of the top 11 players on the roster.

	Guard	Wing	Wing	Big	Big
Traditional	Ball	Edwards	McDaniels	Lyles	Gobert
Turbo	Ball	Edwards	Dosunmu	Shannon	Lyles/Gobert
Defense	Edwards	Dosunmu	Green	Clark	Gobert

The above options don't take into account the various permutations when Beringer is included in place of Gobert or when Hyland is in the Ball spot. They'll both likely be in the rotation at the start of the season but have less positional flexibility than the likes of Dosunmu, Green, Clark, and Shannon.

In the absence of a clear-cut starting power forward, Connelly has built a flexible roster and plenty of players with individual skills that should translate to rotation roles. The primary criticisms should center on a relative lack of size and a limited number of true two-way players — while it's admittedly an oversimplification, Clark is an all-defense, no offense player while Shannon and Hyland both come in on the opposite side of the equation.

One of the fair criticisms of Finch, for his part, is the lack of creativity in his rotations and occasional rigidity when it comes to affording even small roles to players on the fringes of the rotation.

For instance, it would be easy to play nine players with veterans Hyland and Lyles soaking up backup minutes in the backcourt and frontcourt, respectively. But depending on the matchup, it will likely make sense to expand the rotation and find a few minutes here and there for less-experienced players such as Shannon, Clark, and Beringer. The Wolves need to know what they have in roster spots nine through 14, and there will be specific matchups that lend themselves to playing certain players over others.

While it remains to be seen how the Timberwolves will round out the roster, the heavy lifting has been done. The Wolves will have a solid rotation with plenty of options at Finch's disposal on a nightly basis. Now, it's up to him to push the right buttons and pull the right levers as the season wears on.

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