The Timberwolves on Wednesday reportedly traded Shake Milton, Troy Brown Jr. and a 2030 second-round pick to the Detroit Pistons for combo guard Monte Morris.
Morris, who has tied to Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly through their days together in Denver, gives Minnesota a much-needed scoring boost off the bench. Let’s dive into the depth chart to see what head coach Chris Finch has to work with…
Point guard
- Starter: Mike Conley
- Backups: Monte Morris, Jordan McLaughlin
Shooting guard
- Starter: Anthony Edwards
- Backups: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Wendell Moore Jr., Jaylen Clark, Daishen Nix
Small forward
- Starter: Jaden McDaniels
- Backups: Josh Minott
Power forward
- Starter: Karl-Anthony Towns
- Backups: Kyle Anderson, Leonard Miller
Center
- Starter: Rudy Gobert
- Backups: Naz Reid, Luka Garza
The reality in the NBA today is that it’s a positionless game, so the depth above is really just a formality. For example, in the real world Conley, Morris, McLaughlin, Alexander-Walker, Edwards and Anderson can all run the point.
There are basically 10 guys who will play, though it could be nine if Morris’ arrival relegates McLaughlin to even more of a bench role. The 10 include the starters (Conley, Edwards, McDaniels, Towns, Gobert) and five reserves: Reid, Morris, Anderson, Alexander-Walker and maybe McLaughlin.
Morris is a significant addition because the Timberwolves have typically played 8-9 guys most nights, with the ninth man being McLaughlin while the top eight have played the bulk of the minutes. Morris is a 3-point threat (career 38.9%) who should help spread the floor whenever he’s in the game.
There could be more moves to shake up the roster further, but Wednesday’s trade for Morris was an addition with very little subtraction considering Milton and Brown Jr. rarely played.
