Robert Covington doesn’t have the household name recognition Jimmy Butler does, but make no mistake, he’s a really good player.
You’ll never hear his name in conversations you heard Butler’s name – top 15 player or best two-way player in the league – but he’s legitimately one of the best defenders in the NBA and he can light it up from deep.
While Butler made the All-NBA Defense Second Team for the fourth time in his career last season, Covington was on the First Team. Covington is 27 years old, 6-foot-9 and is shooting 39 percent from 3 this season.
He’s knocked down 30 3-pointers this season, just one fewer than Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson in the same number of games. Covington hit 203 from deep last season, which ranked 11th in the NBA.
More importantly, he’s a catch-and-shoot specialist who doesn’t need the ball in his hands on the offensive end, which should lead to better spacing and offensive flow for the Wolves.
It means the offense can – and should – run directly through Karl-Anthony Towns, with Andrew Wiggins, Derrick Rose and Jeff Teague also benefitting with more freedom to create their own shots.
But he’s so much more. Take it from his former teammate and respected basketball mind J.J. Redick.
“He’s the perfect modern day player in terms of analytics and what he’s able to do on both ends of the floor,” said Redick last season, via Sports on Earth.
Dario Saric, who will join Covington in Minnesota, agreed with Redick’s opinion in the article.
“Everyone talks about him as one of the best three-and-D guys in the league, but he’s not just a 3-point shooter and a great defensive player,” Saric said. “There’s so many more things that he does. He’s got one of the biggest roles here. He’s so important to this team.”
Saric and bury triples too.
The 24-year-old native of Croatia hit 157 3s last season while connecting at a 39.3 percent clip. He’s shooting just 30 percent from deep early this season, but if his 6-for-13 effort from beyond the arc Wednesday night was any indication, he’s heating up.
Another massive benefit of bringing Covington into the starting lineup is that he’s a true small forward, and that allows Andrew Wiggins to start at shooting guard where all of a sudden he’s a matchup nightmare for nearly every two guard in the NBA.
Fans should be excited to see what the new guys bring to the team, which is now squarely in the hands of Towns and Wiggins as the maximum contract guys who have to step up and become great leaders.
