How Will Barton Can Help the Timberwolves as He Joins Coaching Staff

As the President of Basketball Operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Tim Connelly has the ultimate say-so on moves that could get him fired if they go wrong. Moves such as packaging fan favorite Naz Reid and Julius Randle for LaMelo Ball.

Those are the moves that have and will always define Connelly’s career in the NBA, especially externally. But at the same time, internally, he develops and maintains a unique connection with the team he operates with. A connection that promotes a tight-knit organization.

A connection further strengthening by NBA veteran Will Barton joining Minnesota’s coaching staff for the 2026-27 season in a player development role—a move that adds to the connection Connelly is building while giving the Timberwolves a helpful new voice in the practice facility.

The Connelly-Barton-Hyland connection

Barton spent roughly eight of his 11 NBA seasons in Denver, all of which came under Connelly. The latter has been a fan of the former since he was in eighth grade and emerging in the East Coast basketball scene as a wiry, fearless scorer.

Nearly 16 years after Connelly first heard of Barton, in 2021, Connelly consulted him for his thoughts on draft prospect Bones Hyland. From that point on, Barton and Hyland grew a brotherly relationship.

“I just told [Tim], ‘He’s a bucket,’” Barton told Denver media in 2021. “'He knows how to play the game the right way. He’s a dog, and if he’s available when you guys have that pick, I feel like you should take him.’ I didn’t know he would actually take him, but he did.”

Bones Hyland Will Barton NBA Timberwolves — Feb 11, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) looks to pass around Denver Nuggets guard Bones Hyland (3) and forward Will Barton (5) during the second quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

Barton and Hyland's relationship continued to grow during their one season together in Denver. During that same time, Connelly developed his own bond with Hyland. And four years after drafting him, when Hyland became a free agent after the Atlanta Hawks waived his contract in 2025, Connelly scooped him up on a two-way deal with the Timberwolves.

A true mark of the tight-knit culture Connelly fosters is the connections he makes with players like Hyland and Barton. Connelly seemingly has the ability to form close personal relationships with players, which is important for establishing a winning organization.

Circling back on Hyland with a two-way deal certainly paid dividends for Minnesota. He helped keep the Timberwolves’ season alive last year and signed a very team-friendly one-year, veteran’s minimum extension this summer.

Barton is not a reclamation like Hyland, but he is Connelly’s latest reunion. Last season, Barton got his start in the Timberwolves' system by joining their G League team, the Iowa Wolves, as an assistant coach. During his time around the organization, Barton impressed head coach Chris Finch, according to Jon Krawczynski.

The Wolves also included Barton on their Summer League coaching staff this year. And now, he is joining a Timberwolves team that will benefit from his voice.

How Will Barton can help the Timberwolves' staff and players

Barton coming on in a player development role is a relatively low-wattage promotion for the Wolves. He isn’t replacing Micah Nori as Finch’s right-hand man or anything, but Barton gives Minnesota’s coaching staff a new voice that should help blend the new talent the Wolves now have at their guard position.

Will Barton LaMelo Ball Timberwolves NBA — Will Barton working with LaMelo Ball on his handle at Minnesota Timberwolves’ practice facility in Minneapolis. | screenshot via Timberwolves YouTube

Barton has been getting work in with LaMelo Ball at Minnesota’s practice facility ahead of the most pressure-packed season of Ball’s career. He is joining a team with championship aspirations alongside a superstar running mate in Anthony Edwards.

While there is reason to believe the fit between Ball and Edwards will work, given Ball's natural passing talent and Edwards’ history of excelling alongside a natural point guard, this is still the most backcourt talent the Timberwolves have ever had to integrate in the Chris Finch era.

In their current forms, neither Ball nor Edwards has played with a backcourt partner who possesses as much gravity as they both have. They are both ball-dominant players, so there will be a natural feeling-out process this season as Minnesota’s coaching staff attempts to balance their offense. The Wolves will need to find ways to maximize each player to drive team-wide success and a consistently productive offense.

Barton, who was a score-first wing with Denver, has experience playing alongside All-Star-caliber backcourt talent. Between 2017 and 2021, Barton played 58% of his regular-season minutes alongside Jamal Murray. With both of them on the court during that span, the Nuggets posted a 118.1 offensive rating (+7.1 from the league average), a 58.6% true shooting percentage (+2.6% from league average), and a +7.1 net rating.

Edwards is ready for the growing pains that will come in his first season with Ball, but Barton joining Minnesota’s coaching staff could help the two of them through those struggles. Perhaps a large part of Barton’s role will be to work with Ball, just as fellow Wolves assistant Chris Hines works closely with Edwards.

But regardless of Barton’s role, he possesses the knowledge and experience that can make him a very impactful player-development coach this year for the Wolves both on the court and in the film room. At the very least, Barton gives Minnesota's coaching staff a perspective that it did not have before him — a once productive scoring guard not-so-far removed from the NBA, and someone with the unique experience of playing a big role alongside a volume scorer in the backcourt.

Barton may be Connelly’s latest reunion, and that alone exemplifies the important relationship-building skills Connelly possesses. But beyond that — and arguably more importantly — Barton’s experience in the NBA could be an underrated helping hand for the Edwards and Ball partnership in Minnesota.

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