Timberwolves projected lineup and rotations heading into 2023-24 season

Minnesota Timberwolves starting small forward: Jaden McDaniels

Outside of the Timberwolves stars, Jade McDaniels is one of the most important pieces for this team. Last season he played and started in 79 games and averaged 12.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, .9 steals and 1 block on 52/40/74 shooting splits.

Even though he’s a great role player, he is one of the most important pieces because he is one of their best defenders. Not many players are able to average at least 1 block and 1 steal a game yet McDaniels is very capable of doing that year in and year out. As a still young player, he has the potential to get better on the defensive side of the ball.

While he is providing good defense he is also providing consistent shooting. With the team that the Timberwolves have they need as much shooting as possible. The more space that is on the court for Edwards and Towns, the more success they will have resulting in the team winning games.

Primary backup small forward: Troy Brown Jr.

Last season Troy Brown Jr. played in 76 games for the Los Angeles Lakers and had a very solid year. He averaged 7.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists on 43/38/87 shooting splits. For a while, he was one of the starters for the Lakers.

When the Lakers revamped their roster he saw the court less and played in 12 of their 16 playoff games. Now that he is on the Timberwolves, Brown will have the chance to make an impact on this team.

Brown’s role will not be any different than what it was with the Lakers. He will primarily be a 3-point shooter, which is very good and plays defense. He was a solid defender with the Lakers but did play a role in that incredible midseason turnaround for them. Brown’s role won’t be that big but he can make an impact for this team.

Others who could receive minutes: Kyle Anderson, Anthony Edwards, Josh Minott

Josh Minott was a mid-second round draft pick in 2022 and played 15 games for the Timberwolves last season. He averaged 3.1 points and 1.7 rebounds. He essentially played in garbage time minutes and will probably do so again this season if everyone stays healthy.