Terrence Shannon Jr. Is Now Wolves' Most Important Bench Player

The 2026-27 Minnesota Timberwolves have a higher ceiling than any other version of the team in franchise history.

But the bench unit that was once one of the key advantages that Chris Finch's Wolves enjoyed over the majority of opponents has been effectively gutted over the past 14 months. A combination of cap-influenced transactions and untimely injuries have chipped away at their depth.

If Ayo Dosunmu is in the starting lineup when the regular season tips off in Miami on October 21, there will be exactly zero proven bench contributors for Finch to trust.

On a reserve unit that includes Terrence Shannon Jr., Jaylen Clark, Bones Hyland, Josh Green, Trey Lyles and Joan Beringer, the only true on-ball scorers are Shannon and Hyland. And ultimately, Shannon is the only one with the size and all-around upside to impact the game in multiple facets.

Terrence Shannon Jr. has the perfect combination of skill and opportunity

Shannon was a first-round pick for a reason. He was among the leaders in the country in scoring at the University of Illinois and firmly established himself as one of the top youngsters in his class.

He has great size, standing 6-foot-6 with a wingspan north of 6-foot-8, is a great athlete, and an absolute blur in the open floor. Shannon shot the ball well enough at high volume in his final season at Illinois, making 36.2% on 6.6 attempts per game. His range is limitless, and the threat of him pulling up with anywhere combined with the athleticism and quickness to get into the paint make him extremely dynamic in transition.

The half-court offensive game was always the question; he was the offense at Illinois and wasn't asked to distribute much (Shannon's assist rate was just 12.9% in his final year of college). And while he's a cheetah in the open floor, the first step and handle in the half-court aren't quite as impressive.

But when given opportunities in the playoffs last season after injuries to Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, and Dosunmu, he proved his chops as an on-ball scorer to the tune of 24 points in the closeout game against Denver in the first round.

Shannon's minutes fluctuated a bit in the second round against San Antonio as Edwards and Dosunmu worked their way back, but he still averaged 10.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 24.5 minutes per game across the six games, although he was just 4 of 20 from deep.

Finch admitted during Shannon's postseason breakout that he should have been putting the ball in his hands more often. Later, he also talked about playing Shannon alongside Edwards with the expressed purpose of allowing Ant to play off the ball more often.

Of course, those comments came prior to the trade for LaMelo Ball, but it shows both how encouraged Wolves brass was with Shannon's playoff performance and how determined they were to get Edwards off the ball as much as possible moving forward.

Shannon and the veteran Green are the only wings on the roster this side of Edwards, Dosunmu, and McDaniels with any kind of NBA track record at all. There's no question that the opportunity will be there, especially if either Dosunmu or Green end up in the starting lineup.

Why Shannon's production matters more than Bones Hyland

Bones Hyland was an important member of the Wolves' bench last season, joining the rotation permanently by early December and ultimately appearing in 71 games. He had a few memorable performances, including 20 points scored in a close win at Toronto and 18 points in a revange game at Denver, but the Bones experience was not all too dissimilar to what he was known for over the first four years of his career: an absolutely roller-coaster. Offensive spikes, streaky shooting, and spotty (at best) defense.

Hyland is listed at just 6-foot-2 and less than 170 pounds and serves as a scoring guard in a point guard's body. He's limited to playing as a lead guard or, in much more defensively-challenged lineups, as a diminutive off-ball scorer.

Shannon, on the other hand, can play the two or three spot and is now, apparently, trusted to run some offense as well. He's also scaled up and played some small-ball power forward, which is something that he'll likely only do more of given the current roster construction.

In other words, Hyland will largely be relegated to a backup role behind Ball while plenty of minutes will be there for Shannon, and the latter's size and offensive versatility mean that he'll have every opportunity to break out.

Defensive consistency and rebounding are the two areas in which Shannon must improve—especially if he's going to play more minutes at the four. Finch is going to give him opportunities to guard on the perimeter in bigger lineups, but in smaller lineups, he'll need to do a lot better than his 5.0% rebound rate last season if he's going to earn minutes over more traditional big men such as Lyles and Beringer.

Shannon should have the right combination of talent, experience, and opportunity to have a real impact off the bench for the Wolves. While Finch doesn't have too many alternatives, Shannon must take advantage of the chances he's afforded early in the season to ensure that he maintains his role as the season progresses.

Part of the expectation here is volume based; there is a vacuum of bench scoring vacated by Reid, DiVincenzo, and potentially Dosunmu. But Shannon also has the size, explosiveness, and all-around scoring chops to make a genuine impact on this Timberwolves team.

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