Timberwolves Would Be Settling If Trendon Watford Buzz Comes True

The Minnesota Timberwolves still have a vacant roster spot, and given their strong depth in the backcourt and on the wing, the final addition is practically guaranteed to be a big man. With Joan Beringer's growth curve continuing to accelerate, there's a high probability that the addition will have a primary position of power forward versus the Wolves adding another true center.

That narrows down the candidates, and we're finally starting to get some tangible rumors connecting the Wolves to the bigs remaining on the open market.

On a recent podcast, Brett Siegel of Clutch Points mentioned Jeremy Sochan and Trendon Watford as potential matches for the Wolves, saying that there were "rumblings" connecting both forwards to Minnesota.

The Sochan mention will get a lot of attention, and rightfully so: He's a former lottery pick who played significant minutes for the Spurs and ended up on the roster of both Finals teams last year before winning a title with the Knicks. He's also only 23 years old and has clear upside remaining in what is still a relatively young career.

Watford, on the other hand, is an undrafted forward who was cast off by the Philadelphia 76ers amidst their busy offseason of acquiring Jaylen Brown and LeBron James. Let's dig in on what Watford could bring to the table, and why he would be something of an underwhelming depth addition.

Trendon Watford doesn't check the boxes that remain unfilled

Watford is a 6-foot-8 forward with a 7-foot-2 wingspan who went undrafted after two seasons at LSU. He played four NBA seasons for non-playoff teams, splitting that time between Portland and Brooklyn.

He joined the Sixers last season and was part of their rotation for the majority of the year, although he was phased out in April and only appeared in blowouts in the playoffs. He missed several weeks with an adductor strain in the middle of the season and ultimately played in only 53 games for Philly.

He's a well-rounded player who doesn't really excel in one specific area—a good ball-handler and passer for his role but doesn't exactly blow by anyone off the dribble, limiting the effectiveness of that portion of this skillset.

Watford is also a solid rebounder for his size, but not exceptional when it comes to power forwards; his 11% total rebound rate last season would have ranked fourth on the Wolves among rotation players but was lower than both Naz Reid and Julius Randle—the two players that Watford would be tasked with replacing.

Watford is a solid defender with great length, making up for his relative lack of height. Watford can guard most forwards, an attractive skill in today's NBA. But he is not reliable outside shooter, making only 20% of three-point attempts last season with the 76ers and 32.5% for his career. He's never attempted 100 threes in a season, peaking at 29-for-88 season in his final year in Brooklyn.

The summary on Watford is pretty straightforward: he's a solid, albeit undersized combo forward who doesn't pop off the page with any one skill.

In other words, what does Watford solve for in the context of the Wolves' current roster? Adding his defensive versatility and another decent rebounder would help, but would it be a bigger lift than simply finding a player with greater upside in one specific area?

The current plan at power forward is...

As it stands, the Timberwolves plan to fill the frontcourt minutes alongside Rudy Gobert with some combination of Jaden McDaniels, Trey Lyles, and small-ball minutes for Terrence Shannon Jr., Jaylen Clark and Josh Green.

McDaniels is fine as a four, although his rebounding consistency leaves something to be desired. Plus, McDaniels is often tasked with guarding the opponent's most dangerous perimeter scoring threat, which means that he's pulled away from the paint, leaving Gobert and some combination of much smaller guards to pick up the rebounding pieces.

In other words, even if McDaniels is "playing the 4," it would really leave the likes of Ayo Dosunmu and Anthony Edwards to rebound down at a much higher clip than they historically have if McDaniels is stuck on the perimeter defensively.

Lyles, on the other hand, is actually a power forward, and he's an above-average rebounder and solid defender. He's surely the Wolves best internal option when it comes to playing something resembling a "normal" lineup, and adds enough offensively as a catch-and-shoot option from the perimeter to play close to 20 minutes per game alongside Gobert. But he also played overseas last year and has never played more than 20.5 minutes per game in his NBA career.

Wolves shoot should higher than what Watford offers

Given the above, it's understandable why Watford would be on the Wolves' radar. After all, solid depth matters, and Watford is solid. But the Wolves should aim for a higher-upside option.

The aforementioned Sochan can do much of what Watford brings to the table but pops as an offensive rebounder and puts more pressure on the rim both in transition and as a cutter; his contributions off the ball on offense would likely be more significant. He's also nearly three years younger, so there's a great chance for the Wolves to stumble across some untapped potential than there would be with Watford.

If the Wolves want to bring someone in who has a definitive skillset and plugs a hole, the rebounding and floor-stretching of the likes of Kevin Love or Kelly Olynyk stand out, the size and rebounding of Nick Richards or Drew Eubanks, and the defense and pick-and-roll skills of Dwight Powell could fit the bill. Again, they all have bankable individual skills, while Watford is closer to a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none player.

There's also the biggest upside swing of them all still on the market: former Warriors lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga, whom the Wolves reportedly have some interest in. He wants a lot more money than the Wolves can offer him and he comes with the reputation that limited his opportunity in Golden State, so color me skeptical on this one.

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