A week away from the start of the 2024-25 NBA season, the Minnesota Timberwolves have primed the pump with the plot twist of a major trade. It’s a deal that boldly seeks to simultaneously win now and flourish in the future with a roster of both charismatic young stars surging toward their primes and august veterans bent on crowning their careers with the laurel of a championship.
Three of the team’s five preseason games are in the books, a trio of Rorschach blots that send the psyche hopscotching into overreactions, teasing out doubts and optimistic delusion in an attempt to parse what we can’t yet know. But that’s part of the fun of preseason, eh? We whet our appetite for games that matter by sampling the ingredients of the team’s recipe for success before they are fully blended and baked.
That’s what this column is all about — a look at a couple of the positive and negative impressions generated by the Wolves thus far on the cusp of a highly anticipated season of hoops.
The positives
The comprehensive goodness of Donte DiVincenzo
The stunning swap of tenured Wolves star Karl-Anthony Towns and a second-round pick to the New York Knicks for DiVincenzo, Julius Randle, Keita-Bates Diop and a protected first-rounder from the Detroit via New York was always most attractive for the way DiVincenzo addressed myriad dilemmas for the Wolves.
Here was a combo guard who could accurately make it rain from three-point territory at a high volume, spell starting point guard Mike Conley with steady, albeit unspectacular, playmaking, and lighten a payroll in desperate need of a quality bargain. Even at this early juncture, it’s fair to say he has exceeded those already-high expectations and is a near-sure bet to sustain that bonanza when the regular season starts next week.
The giddy part of the DiVincenzo discovery is the added dimension of his versatility. Yeah, he can splash a three and drop a dime at the cut-rate average salary of $12 million per season over the next three years. But he is also a quick decision-maker who moves without the ball, keeps his head on a swivel and pushes the pace. He is a tough, willing, sensible defender.
Best of all, he understands the dynamics of successful teamwork, correctly calibrating where and how much he fits into the flow of the game as it unfolds. And by word and by deed, he is already imparting that wisdom to players such as Rob Dillingham, the teenaged rookie who is Conley’s heir apparent.
DiVincenzo knows when to lead, when to defer, and when to cavort in tandem. The best images to emerge from preseason thus far stem from the unmitigated joy hoopers like Anthony Edwards and Naz Reid display when DDV (also known to Knicks fans as “The Big Ragu”) is enabling their exploits with a blend of swag and savvy often ideally suited to the situation.
If you’re titillated by clickbait, you likely already know that DDV and Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson had words after the Wolves preseason game in New York Sunday night. But the more meaningful footage came from Wolves head coach Chris Finch during a sideline interview between the first and second quarter, when asked about the fit and impact of DiVincenzo. “Feels like he’s been here forever.”
The emergence of Josh Minott
A raw, teenaged prospect when drafted in the second-round in 2022, Minott showed a promising knack for making an impact during his brief 96 minutes on the court as a rookie. But he stagnated last season, logging just 91 minutes in more than twice as many games — mop-up duty — and seemed frustrated, straining for relevance in a manner that just magnified his immaturity. This lack of refinement and self-awareness continued in a mostly lackluster showing during his third Summer League stint last July in Las Vegas.
But something clicked in the past month. In his Media Day interview the last day of September, Minott said he made a meaningful mental change in approach before then, as far back as last season. He talked about reducing his fear of failure and the stress over his statistics and contract situation. In remarks more relevant to his recent, somewhat remarkable improvement, he said he “got smarter, knowing what works and what doesn’t,” and “simplifying my game.”
Minott has always had good instincts as a gambler, but the stress he felt apparently created too much noise to heed them. This preseason, he ratified the raves Finch has accorded him this summer by striking a good balance between discipline and activity in a manner that maximizes his athleticism. He is a smarter, more willing passer and a more reliably adept team defender. Along with growing into his body and putting on more muscle, he has improved his shot mechanics.
Success on his jumper, especially from three-point range, has given him more momentum to embrace an attitude that doesn’t always countenance failure or remain preoccupied with career status. The bottom line has been eye-opening. Through the first three preseason games, Minott leads the Wolves in minutes-played, rebounds, blocks and steals, ranks second (to Ant) in points-scored and is even fourth in assists.
Alas, the way the Wolves current roster shakes out, Minott still will have trouble finding regular rotation minutes. Even so, he’ll almost certainly exponentially increase his playing time over his previous two seasons. His inspired, synergistic play as a combo forward has moved him ahead of rookie TJ Shannon and made him the logical choice to fill in some gaps when both Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid got in foul trouble against the Knicks Sunday night.
Bottom line, Minott has rather suddenly taken the leap from stagnating prospect to someone who will likely make a meaningful contribution at various points this season — a noteworthy ascension for someone a month short of his 22nd birthday.
The negatives
Nickeil Alexander-Walker must negotiate his limitations
In preseason interviews with the media, Alexander-Walker (or NAW) has continually stated that his priority coming into training camp was expanding his play-making facility in a manner that makes him a more viable option as Conley’s backup at point guard.
It is a role he held last season — the site basketball-reference.com had him logging a career-high 43% of his minutes at the point — but in a manner that was more rudimentary than proactive. In my annual interview with Finch last month, the coach bluntly noted that, “The more (NAW) tries to be a traditional point guard, the worse it gets.”
Thus far in the preseason, NAW’s efforts to rebut that perception have floundered. When Finch rested Conley and installed NAW at the point to start the second half of the game against the Sixers Friday night, Philadelphia preyed on him for two quick and blatant turnovers, compelling Finch to spread out the responsibility of bringing the ball up.
Through three games, NAW leads the Wolves with seven turnovers — no other player has more than four. Meanwhile, a half-dozen teammates eclipse his total of five assists, and the players at the top of that list are ominous with regard to his status going forward. The rookie Dillingham leads the team with 14 assists and just two turnovers, and while his playmaking has been more problematic than that ratio indicates, it is a noteworthy sign that the teenager can one day fill the void when Conley retires.
The other Timberwolf with double-digit assists is DiVincenzo, with a dozen, which is just one of many reasons why the original estimates on his playing time will likely be increased when the games start to matter next week. Will that come at NAW’s expense? That’s hard to say, especially since NAW was stellar off the bench for the Wolves last season, doing all the little things, like taking charges and locking up perimeter scorers on defense, and becoming a fearsome threat on corner three-pointers on offense.
The situation is complicated by the fact that NAW is a “confidence player” — his performance is clearly enhanced when he feels secure in his status. During this preseason his inability to deliver improved play-making, coupled with the notorious splash made by a newcomer who roughly plays the same positions and role on the team, have affected his confidence and thus his play. He has made just 2- of-11 three-point attempts, and a mere 35% of his shots overall. Oh, and his contract expires at the end of this season, compounding the pressure.
On a team of stand-up, thoughtful players, NAW still distinguishes himself as a wonderfully open-hearted and honest person who can be hard on himself and proneto vulnerability. Finch is a great “relationship” coach who knows him, likes him, and has been vital in his development. But in what has been a mostly heartening preseason and training camp, NAW’s struggle is a conspicuous outlier.
Incorporating Rudy Gobert into the offensive flow remains a stubborn work-in-progress
Since Gobert arrived in Minnesota two seasons ago, Finch has expressed a desire to tap into what the coach views as the big center’s unrealized potential on offense. Some strides were made in that direction last season, as Gobert improved his spacing in a manner that both allowed better dribble-penetration by his teammates and created more movement, and options off that movement, to complicate the task of opposing defenses.
With KAT traded, Gobert is almost certain to have his contract extended beyond next year’s player option season. Meanwhile, the Wolves signed longtime Gobert teammate Joe Ingles and have another longtime cohort of Rudy’s, Mike Conley, starting at the point. Dillingham was drafted in part because he too can eventually become a capable lob partner for Rudy’s buckets at the rim. And Finch now- annually states that the Ant-Gobert relationship on offense will be a focal point in the preseason.
All that said, after sitting out against the Sixers on Friday, Gobert has played only 38 total minutes thus far. Conley, who just turned 37, has appropriately been limited to 22 total minutes. And Ingles has logged just 41 minutes, often in a mentor role with the second unit. Meanwhile, in the light of those absences, it is hard not to notice that the Wolves offensive flow has been marvelous — the closest it has come to the elasticity and spontaneity Finch wants at that end of the court. After 11 NBA seasons, and some hard-earned adjustments to the offense last season that had both the Wolves and Gobert making compromises, it is fair to wonder if there are any more new tricks the old dog can acquire. The sample size this preseason is scant, but deliberate efforts to feed him at any point but when he ready for an entry pass in the post or in the dunker’s spot on the baseline too frequently results in a turnover.
The numbers don’t signify anything —he has made 4-for-7 shots, has 3 assists and 4 turnovers in those 38 minutes — but it remains stubbornly apparent that the flow will be slow with Gobert on the court. It’s hardly a fatal dynamic — on the contrary, Gobert is the primary reason why the Wolves had the best defense in the NBA last season and reached the Western Conference Finals. You live with his limitations because his net value remains substantial.
In other words, maybe having to identify an acceptable status quo as a negative in this preseason to-date is a sign that things are progressing nicely after a successful 2023-24 season and a major trade this summer. Through three games, it certainly feels that way, with a couple more Rorschach blots to come before the regular-season opener on Oct. 22.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of DiVincenzo.
Britt Robson
Britt Robson has covered the Timberwolves since 1990 for City Pages, The Rake, SportsIllustrated.com and The Athletic. He also has written about all forms and styles of music for over 30 years.
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