The Minnesota Timberwolves have had a busy offseason. They traded away Julius Randle (a three-time All-Star) to clear cap space, then used that cap space to trade for LaMelo Ball and Josh Green, in a deal that also cost them Naz Reid (their best bench player during this recent run of success). And now, out of left field, the Wolves emerge as the winner of the Jonathan Kuminga sweepstakes.
BREAKING: Jonathan Kuminga has agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, plus a player option, agent Aaron Turner tells ESPN. Kuminga will be a starter alongside Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert on the West contender. pic.twitter.com/KdtD6YEy9j
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 26, 2026
It's safe to say that this Minnesota team looks a lot different than the one that we just saw win five playoff series in the last three years. So, to help us wrap our head around the new-look Timberwolves, let's go over their projected starting lineup and depth chart.
Updated 2026-27 Minnesota Timberwolves depth chart
Remember, this depth chart is merely my opinion based on their current roster. We won't actually know what the team is thinking until Media Day, at the very least.
POSITIONS | FIRST STRING | SECOND STRING | THIRD STRING |
|---|---|---|---|
PG | LaMelo Ball | Ayo Dosunmu | Jaylen Clark |
SG | Anthony Edwards | Bones Hyland | Done DiVincenzo |
SF | Jaden McDaniels | Josh Green | Isaiah Evans |
PF | Jonathan Kuminga | Terrence Shannon Jr. | Trey Lyles |
C | Rudy Gobert | Joan Beringer | Rocco Zikarsky |
Ball, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert, so long as they are healthy, are all locks to be starters on opening night. Also, according to the tweet from NBA insider Shams Charania that is included above, it looks like the Timberwolves have promised Kuminga the fifth starting spot. I'm not sure I would go in that direction, but it makes sense given how little frontcourt depth they have.
Ayo Dosunmu will be the first guy off the bench. From there, things get a little wacky. I expect Bones Hyland, Green and Terrence Shannon Jr. to all get bench minutes. However, I'm not sure what positions they will be playing, as McDaniels will likely be getting at least some minutes at the power forward spot. Then, I expect Joan Beringer to be the player backing up Gobert at the five. That will be quite the adventure given how young and inexperienced he is (Beringer only played 314 minutes last season). The Timberwolves are really going to need Gobert to be healthy all next year for this to work.
This Minnesota team is really lacking in depth, so I don't expect anyone outside of those 10 players to get minutes if everyone is healthy. The one exception to that would be Jaylen Clark, a tenacious defender whose offensive limitations will keep him from being a consistent contributor.
Isaiah Evans was taken by the team with the 33rd overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. He certainly has upside, but he's probably too raw to really be a factor for this team right now (although we've seem some second rounders make an immediate impact in the past). Journeyman forward Trey Lyles and sophomore big Rocco Zikarsky also sit at the fringes of the roster.
Donte DiVincenzo likely won't be suiting up for the Timberwolves this year after tearing his Achilles in the first round against the Denver Nuggets. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up getting traded so that the Timberwolves can save some money. Still, we'll give him the 15th spot for now.
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