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For years, the NBA has rewarded teams that use five-out lineups. Front offices now chase floor spacing everywhere. As the game moves toward positionless basketball at all levels, most contending teams choose to copy the exact same strategy.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, long committed to a traditional two-big system, just decided to radically pivot toward this league-wide trend. That kind of bold move either makes an executive look brilliant or gets them fired quickly.
Why Tim Connelly Blew Up Minnesota’s Frontcourt for a Gamble Nobody Saw Coming
Connelly’s Biggest Gamble Is About to Be Tested
Minnesota’s frontcourt lost huge talent by trading Julius Randle and Naz Reid. Randle brought 19 points and 8 rebounds per game last year, while Reid shot a strong 39% from three. Trey Lyles — who signed a veteran minimum contract — is a solid backup, but he does not have the skills or stats to replace those two productive big men.
The roster changes were a calculated response by president Tim Connelly following the playoff loss to the Spurs. San Antonio took advantage of Minnesota’s traditional two-big lineup by running the floor at a frantic pace.
Rudy Gobert and Reid struggled to defend the fast breaks, and Randle’s slow, deliberate play hindered the offense. Connelly realized that the roster structure had a major problem. The tight, cramped spacing around Gobert limited clear 3-point opportunities, forcing the front office to build a new blueprint.
Jaden McDaniels Stays Home
The initial assumption around the league was that Jaden McDaniels would slide to power forward. He has the frame for it at 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan. Head coach Chris Finch could have tried that approach, but he chose not to.
Forcing McDaniels into a full-time four spot would have masked the real issue. He is a wing defender, not an interior rebounder. Minnesota needs him guarding the best perimeter player on every possession.
Instead, Finch will use single-big lineups, keeping Gobert as the only traditional center on the floor. McDaniels will switch between the three and four spots based on matchups, while Josh Green brings extra length to the wing. This change turns the frontcourt into a flexible, positionless group rather than a rigid two-tower system. This defensive versatility provides Finch with completely new tactical choices.
LaMelo Ball Runs the Show
The entire system works because of LaMelo Ball. His arrival changes the geometry of Minnesota’s offense. Ball pushes the pace in transition better than any point guard the Timberwolves have had. He creates driving lanes with his pick-and-roll execution. Anthony Edwards becomes a secondary playmaker who attacks closeouts rather than running the offense himself.
Ball’s shooting gravity matters a great deal here. Defenses cannot sag off him to crowd the paint. That spacing is critical when Gobert occupies the interior. The lane stays open for Edwards and Green to attack.
Finch finally has a pick-and-roll creator to make single-big basketball work at a high level. Minnesota ranked near the bottom of the league in assist percentage last season, another sign of its incomplete offense. Ball’s elite facilitating should fix that problem immediately.
Rudy Gobert Gets No Rest
Single-big systems have a well-documented weakness. When Gobert sits, Minnesota has no rim protector. Lyles is not going to block many shots. McDaniels can bother drivers but will not deter them at the rim. Opposing coaches will hunt those minutes aggressively. A team like Denver with Nikola Jokic will feast on Lyles in the post. Joel Embiid would view those possessions as vacation time.
Connelly is betting that the offensive gains outweigh the defensive vulnerability. He believes Ball and Edwards can score enough to make the backcourt defensive gaps irrelevant. That is a fairly significant wager for any executive.
Finch will need to manage Gobert’s minutes with extreme care. The margin for error in the West is razor thin. Minnesota just hollowed out its defensive depth to chase an offensive identity. There is no safety net here. Not for Gobert, and not for Connelly.
Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
