What the Timberwolves' Entire Rotation Could Look Like at Start of This Season

Tim Connelly did his job this summer. He traded Julius Randle and Naz Reid for LaMelo Ball, who immediately becomes the Timberwolves’ starting point guard of the future. But in doing so, he created a hole at power forward—a hole that he patched last week by signing Jonathan Kuminga to a two-year, $12.4 million deal.

Now, Chris Finch must do his job to make those two new pieces work in conjunction on a team that will be gunning for a championship.

Minnesota is paying Finch millions to do that. He has probably been brainstorming lineup combinations and rotations all summer long. As we wait until Finch first deploys his team on Oct. 21 in Miami, here is an example rotation that I believe could work well for the Wolves:

Starters

Ball | Edwards | McDaniels | Kuminga | Gobert

Nothing surprising here. Last week, we were discussing if Finch’s fifth starter should be Ayo Dosunmu, Trey Lyles, or maybe Josh Green. Today, we know that Kuminga will almost certainly be that player—injecting athleticism and off-ball movement into Minnesota’s starting lineup. For Kuminga’s fit with that group to work, he must prove he is willing to do less with more and play a complementary role.

According to a recent response he posted to a TikTok video, Kuminga appears ready to do whatever it takes to win, regardless of how many shots Finch sets up for him in the starting lineup.

End of first quarter

Shannon | Edwards | Dosunmu | Lyles | Beringer

Last season with the Hornets, Ball typically rested at the end of the first quarter. As the Timberwolves look for ways to manage his minutes this season after he averaged only 28 per game last season (seven fewer than Anthony Edwards, for example), continuing to give Ball a breather at the end of the first quarter would make sense.

To do so, I have Finch replacing Ball with Terrence Shannon Jr. Finch knew he spaced Shannon off the ball too much last season, so operating with Shannon as Ball's backup point guard this year will encourage him to initiate the offense more, giving him more opportunities to leverage his downhill skill set.

Additionally, because Kuminga averages 22 minutes per game over his NBA career, I have him taking an early break on the bench, assuming that Finch will try to manage his minutes as he will Ball’s.

Start of second quarter

Ball | Dosunmu | Clark | Shannon | Beringer

This lineup gives Beringer the opportunity to play with Ball, which I believe is important in unlocking Beringer’s pick-and-roll abilities in Minnesota’s offense. Additionally, Jaylen Clark subs in for the first time to provide that rugged point-of-attack defense alongside McDaniels.

Here, you can see that I am staggering Ball and Edwards minutes. Doing that in the first half of games will help keep Minnesota’s offense dynamic with an All-Star-level creator providing consistent scoring and gravity to help prevent Finch’s offense from drying up for extended stretches.

Middle of second quarter

Shannon | Edwards | McDaniels | Kuminga | Gobert

Ball heads back to the bench for a short break before rejoining this lineup at the end of the quarter. This lineup gives Minnesota sizable length and defensive stopping power. I think there is enough speed in the frontcourt to be effective running the floor as well.

Start of third quarter

Ball | Edwards | McDaniels | Kuminga | Gobert

Finch cycles his starters back into the game out of halftime, which is standard practice, unless a player suffered an injury in the first half or perhaps isn’t playing well.

End of third quarter

Shannon | Dosunmu | Clark | Lyles | Beringer

After about the midway point of the third quarter, Finch will likely begin shifting entirely to his bench group to finish the frame so that his starters can gain stamina for the fourth. This lineup—comprising all five rotational bench players—can leverage its speed in the open court to catch the opposing team, which is probably benching its starters, off guard.

Start of fourth quarter

Ball | Dosunmu | McDaniels | Kuminga | Gobert

Typically last season, Finch kept Edwards on the bench for roughly the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. This lineup gives Dosunmu some extended run in between frames. The Wolves believe he will be a high-volume scorer, which makes sense after they paid him $212 million this summer. This stretch in the game—especially at the end of the third where he will be the featured scorer—will allow Dosunmu to maintain a higher offensive volume.

End of game

Ball | Edwards | McDaniels | Kuminga | Gobert

Nothing surprising here as I have Finch finishing the game where he started it. This will be the most important in-game stretch for the Ball-Edwards duo to unlock Minnesota’s late-game, clutch-time offense, and do so in a way that prohibits the opposing defense from double-teaming Edwards.

Overall, this finishes as a ten-man rotation. Minnesota’s starters are featured in five lineups, Dosunmu and Shannon are in four lineups, and Clark and Lyles are in two each.

Out of the rotation, players include Bones Hyland, Isaiah Evans, Cody Williams, Zyon Pullin, Enrique Freeman, and Rocco Zikarsky.

In the event of an injury at their respective positions, I believe Hyland (PG) and Williams (G/F) can play spot minutes effectively. Should foul trouble or an injury occur to either Gobert or Beringer, then Lyles would slide over to be Minnesota’s break-the-glass backup forward/center. I think it is important that the Wolves add one more veteran with some size before the season begins.

But as things sit right now, I believe this rotation rounds Minnesota’s versatile talent together effectively.

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