Nba: Wolves Wing Stop Or Stopgap?

Well, it was fun while it lasted, huh?

So LeBron James isn’t a Timberwolf. That’s unfortunate. But life moves on! We checked the rules and the Minnesota Timberwolves will, in fact, still need to participate in the 2026-2027 NBA season without The King. Wolves-centered publications can all stop writing offseason filler content about him, so I think we can all agree to be happy about that.

Let’s move on to the next overplayed commonly discussed topic of the season: Who will be the stopgap fifth starter for the Timberwolves?

Barring another vintage Tim Connelly surprise before the start of the season, the Wolves currently have filled 16 of their 18 maximum roster spots (including the two-way spots). They have just about enough money to spend on a minimum contract or two for the last openings if they wish to stay under the second apron.

Let’s do a quick review in order of contract size (percent of cap):

1. Anthony Edwards (29.7%)
2. LaMelo Ball (24.7%)
3. Rudy Gobert (22.1%)
4. Jaden McDaniels (15.9%)
5. Ayo Dosunmu (11.7%)
6. Josh Green (8.9%)
7. Donte DiVincenzo (7.6%)
8. Joan Beringer (2.7%)
9. Jaylen Clark (1.9%)
10. Bones Hyland (1.7%)
11. TJ Shannon (1.7%)
12. Trey Lyles (1.5%)
13. Isaiah Evans (1.5%)
14. (Vacant)
15. (Vacant)

1. Rocco Zikarsky (TW)
2. Zyon Pullin (TW)
3. Enrique Freeman (TW)

There isn’t a traditional “power forward” that jumps off that list to join Ball, Edwards, McDaniels, and Gobert. You can make the argument that the only player who naturally plays that position is recently signed Trey Lyles, who is on a veteran minimum contract and was not on an NBA roster last season.

This conversation naturally flows to: Do we start Jaden McDaniels as the power forward and bring another wing into the starting rotation?

I’ve decided to fixate on that question and the potential solutions. The Wolves have an awful amount of “wings,” or even guards, that I wanted to categorically compare. Most of the options only check certain boxes of what an ideal candidate should have. Some overlap. I realized a visualization would be helpful to a simpleton like myself.

Let’s talk stopgaps, or more like “Wing Stop.”

Table of Contents

1. Menu of Wings
2. Wing Flavors
   • Scorer/Creator
   • Shooter/Spacer
   • Defense/Hustle
3. Conclusion

Menu of Wings

When looking at players that could slide in as a shooting guard or small forward, I sorted six players between six foot four inches to six foot six inches. Upon pulling measurements from NBA.com and databallr, I decided to include Bones Hyland due to his abnormally long wingspan, and you can’t just include one half of the Twin Turbos without the other. I also looped in the aforementioned Jaden McDaniels and Trey Lyles just for reference.

Wing Flavors

Obviously basketball players shouldn’t and can’t just be deduced down to just three subjective “flavors.” However, for the sake of this exercise, I’m going to do it anyway. I created a Venn diagram of “Scorer/Creator,” “Shooter/Spacer,” and “Defender/Hustle” and categorized the players named above.

Scorer/Creator

^{*Isaiah Evans statistics from last season in NCAA
*Trey Lyles statistics from last season in NBA}

First and foremost, I opted not to pick the low-hanging fruit of “points per game” as it doesn’t necessarily capture what I was looking for here. This category is meant to capture who initiates the offense, whether it’s for themselves or others. Thus, I pulled usage percentage, assist percentage, and percentage of field goals that are unassisted.

Bones Hyland obviously pops here. He’s the only true ball handler of the bunch and is functionally a point guard. Two-thirds of his two-pointers are unassisted, the third highest on the team behind Anthony Edwards and Johnny Juzang. Bizzy Bones was also second on the team in AST% among rotation players. He’s not a realistic starting wing option, but I’ve listed him here just for comparison more like I have with Jaden and Trey.

Then comes TJ Shannon. The playmaking numbers aren’t great for him, but he creates a ton of offense for himself. Finch famously mentioned after the Wolves eliminated the Denver Nuggets in the postseason that he had been using Shannon wrong as a spot-up player instead of putting the ball in his hands. He had the third highest percentage of unassisted three-pointers behind the aforementioned Edwards and Juzang. The soon to be 26-year-old is nearly unstoppable once he gets a head of steam, which is even more impressive when you consider he’s as left hand dependent as Julius Randle.

If you score 43 points in a playoff game where two of your team’s most important players go down, you automatically qualify as a “Scorer.” Those are actually the rules. Ayo Dosunmu has also demonstrated an ability to create for others, especially in the postseason where he shouldered a heavier load. He averaged a team best 4.1 assists per game in the 2026 playoffs. Ayo’s ability to be an offensive hub is why many are hoping he remains a sparkplug off the bench especially in lieu of Naz Reid.

Shooter/Spacer

^{*Isaiah Evans statistics from last season in NCAA
*Trey Lyles statistics from last season in NBA}

Shooting ability is a must in today’s NBA roster construction, and the Wolves have no shortage of that (Hi, Miami!). This may not be the Dynasty Warriors vs Morey Ball days of chucking up as many threes as possible (Hi, Boston!), but teams are wiser as to how to generate efficient three-point shots. I looked at general three-point shooting ability (overall three-point percentage, catch-and-shoot three-point percentage, and corner three-point percentage), as well as volume (three-point attempt rate).

Let’s all take a minute to pour one out for Donte DiVincenzo. He’s one of the premier volume three-point shooters in the NBA and the Wolves will surely miss his floor spacing gravity next season. He had the second highest three-point rate on the team (Shoutout Mike Conley, besting him by literally 1%) and converted at a good rate, despite a down year. In clutch situations, he was never shy.

The “throw-in” that came in the LaMelo Ball trade needs to be discussed. Josh Green posted elite numbers across these categories. Converting on 42% of your triples with a three-point rate of 76.2% is bonkers. The Aussie is excellent at catch-and-shoot opportunities, and is one of the best corner three-point shooters in the game. This is something he relentlessly developed over his basketball career. He was known in high school as a non-shooter, then grinded his way during his time at University of Arizona to become respectable. Now in the NBA, he’s a dangerous weapon from beyond the arc.

Bones Hyland deserves a shoutout here too. Again, he won’t be a starter, but his strength as a floor spacer is still undeniable. He takes and makes them at a very high rate. It’s impressive especially considering how he often has the ball in his hands. The offense talent is there.

I mentioned Twin Turbos earlier, right? The case for Ayo Dosunmu as a “Shooter” is interesting. His three-point rate is on the low end, but he converts them at a premium caliber. We’re talking team-best caliber (Sorry Joe Ingles and Enrique Freeman). He’s amazing as a catch-and-shoot threat to boot. Ayo isn’t usually in position as a corner shot taker, but his strong numbers at converting threes overall makes me feel comfortable labeling him as a shooter.

The Wolves rookie Isaiah Evans will remain an unknown for now. He was one of the best three-point shooters in the NCAA last season (3rd in ACC), but struggled in Summer League (26.7%). Evans likely won’t be in the rotation for now, but considering that shooting is the main reason he was drafted, we can give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

Veteran Trey Lyles is by-and-large a stretch big. His numbers weren’t great during his final season with Sacramento, but that team was a mess and his role had diminished at that point. The season prior, he had a much higher conversion rate (38.4%) on higher volume (68.2% 3PAr). He was also 40% on catch-and-shoot opportunities from perimeter. More recently, Lyles shot 39% from distance last year overseas with Real Madrid.

I struggled to determine if TJ Shannon deserved to be here. Similar to Ayo, he shot over 40% from perimeter last season on a slightly higher three-point rate. However, I would categorically consider Shannon to be more of a threat attacking the paint as opposed to as a spacer. His catch-and-shoot numbers were significantly lower so it just didn’t feel right to label him a “Shooter.”

Defender/Hustle

^{*Isaiah Evans statistics from last season in NCAA
*Trey Lyles statistics from last season in NBA
*Stocks & deflections listed are per 36 minutes}

It has historically been difficult for box score statistics or a singular catch-all measurement to determine a player’s overall defensive impact. Simple “blocks and steals” numbers aren’t close to capturing one’s complete defensive footprint. Even deflections, which has become a more popular statistic recently, though useful, is just looking at one aspect of defense. Based on what was available to me, I did pull Defensive Win Shares and Defensive Box Plus Minus numbers for reference.

Based on these measurements, you can still squint and see some patterns. You have Jaylen Clark, who is clearly the highest overall achiever in this category (DWS is impacted by how many minutes someone plays). He’s elite at getting deflections or finishing defensive plays. It’s as obvious as when he swoops in to steal an inbounds pass, as it is when rides an opponents hip into a tough shot. There’s not much debate here for Clark County’s placement here.

Then you have Josh Green and Donte DiVincenzo. They’re similar in their ability to muck things up on the defensive end. They’ll get in your jersey even if it forces the official to call a foul. Dive for a loose ball even if your legs are in the way. Run down a rebound way outside their zone which sends them flying into the first row. They’re here to irritate you. That said, they still differ in their own unique ways. DiVincenzo is more athletic and agile, while Green is more physical and strong. It’s no surprise that Connelly targeted someone like Green this offseason with DiVincenzo out.

Similar to his case as a “Shooter,” Ayo Dosunmu as a “Defender” can also been debated. The numbers don’t paint a plus defender. He’s never been elite at generating steals or blocks, but he’s one of those “solid as they come” players. Ayo might not wow you, but he will stick to the assignment. He can fight over screens well. He can contest without fouling. He can make quick and on time rotations. He can finish possessions with defensive rebounds. This singular play sequence against Jaylen Brown last season always left an impression on me. It’s why I’m a believer in him as a defender, even if not a top percentile one. Ayo takes pride on defense.

His Twin Turbo brother Bones Hyland is an interesting case too. By the eye test, he is surely a weak link on defense. He struggles to keep his man ahead of him, fouls a lot (second most behind Jaden McDaniels per 36), and is often lost on rotations. However, he generated a surprising amount of deflections and stocks, probably due to his absurdly long wingspan. Remember all those chase-down blocks he had? All to say, it still doesn’t feel honest to put Bizzy Bones in the “Defender” category.

In Conclusion

Does this exercise help us determine who the final starter will be? It may depend on what the matchup calls for. Coach Chris Finch alluded to this as much, going to far as to show hesitation with inserting Jaden as the full-time power forward.

If you want to skew towards defense and spacing, you may be looking at Josh Green.

If you want to skew towards offense and creation, you may be looking at TJ Shannon.

If you want a more well balanced approach, you may be looking at Ayo Dosunmu.

We all know our friends over in New York is still celebrating his 2026 championship. The Knicks famously acquired defensive-minded wings on their team who were integral to raising a banner. They had previously earned the nickname “Wing Stop.” Do the Wolves have their own “Wing Stop” brewing? It might be a little early for that, but they have options.

Maybe this is just a stopgap.

Maybe it’s just “Wing Stop, Just Young”.