Timberwolves see need to develop younger players for rotation roles

Throughout last season, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch didn’t often have to dip into the youth at the end of his bench for significant minutes during the regular season and playoffs.

When Finch was playing nine or 10 guys in the regular season, he had veterans such as Monte Morris and Jordan McLaughlin occupying that time instead of turning to some of his younger talent.

But this offseason is shaping up to be an intriguing battle for minutes at the back end of the Wolves rotation, and it might decrease the ages of the players Finch brings off the bench.

The Wolves are bringing seven of their top eight rotation players back next season, with Kyle Anderson being the departure from that group after the Wolves sent him to Golden State in a sign-and-trade Tuesday. Morris left for Phoenix. The Wolves signed Joe Ingles and PJ Dozier to one-year deals as veteran depth on the bench. Ingles will provide some playmaking and shooting punch (41% from three-point range for his career), but how Finch decides to dole out minutes for those ninth and 10th rotation spots during the regular season will be one of the story lines to watch early next season.

No. 8 overall pick Rob Dillingham figures to get the first crack at the backup point guard minutes behind Mike Conley, and President Tim Connelly said the team expects Dillingham to play right away. That’s why they traded to get him. Ingles, given his prior chemistry with Conley and Rudy Gobert during their time in Utah, also figures to get some minutes, at least at the start of the season.

But perhaps this is the season some of the Wolves’ younger players make a push for minutes.

“In our situation, with the opportunities that we have, it’s certainly there for them,” Finch said Wednesday at the introductory news conference for Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. “There’s roles to be had, roles to be earned.”

2022 second-round pick Josh Minott will be entering his third season, and the Wolves might like to know what they have in him.

They traded into the early second round of the draft last summer to grab Leonard Miller, another player they are high on because of his athleticism and rebounding ability. Or perhaps Shannon, whose strength is scoring, will find a role on a team that needs what he can offer.

Injuries will dictate some of Finch’s decisions throughout the season, but the Wolves — while still trying to go deep into the playoffs next year — will have to do so while developing some of their young players into key contributors. That’s different from where the team was a season ago.

“We got some holes right away that need to be plugged and there’s no doubt that they’re going to have to be filled by young players, whether it be these two guys [Dillingham and Shannon] or guys that have already been in the system, in the gym,” Finch said. “That’s what we need to do. We’re excited about that challenge and we’re looking forward to these guys stepping up to it.”

Ingles could end up helping the Wolves win more games in the regular season, especially early, thanks to his ability to shoot from long range, but the Wolves will be better off later in the season and in years to come if they can find time for their younger players. This seemed to be one of the shortcomings for Denver against the Wolves in last season’s playoffs — the Nuggets hadn’t developed some of their younger players on their bench in the name of winning regular-season games, and the Wolves benefitted from the depth of their roster. The Wolves can’t make the same mistake, and they have opportunities to let their young players grow while having a solid top seven of their rotation they can turn to for the most important minutes.

The key to a young player’s development, Finch said, is making sure they have defined roles, and not throwing them into a lot of minutes without any guardrails.

“The best opportunity to develop young talent is to develop them into specific roles,” Finch said. “Those roles are usually defined by teams that are ready to win and are winning. You know what you need and you can go in there and, first and foremost, try to excel in that role. It’s great to have young players playing a lot of minutes, giving them a lot of opportunities. But sometimes, they can maybe bite off a little more than they can chew.”

For the Wolves and Finch, the thing to keep in mind is giving them enough to chew on in the first place.