Ranking Minnesota Timberwolves' Bench Players by Importance

The Minnesota Timberwolves will enter the 2026-27 season with more question marks on their bench unit than they've carried into each of the last few campaigns, and the depletion of the reserves has been a steady leak over the past 15 months or so.

The exit of Nickeil Alexander-Walker leading into last season was the first hole in the bench vessel. Then came the elevation of Donte DiVincenzo to the starting lineup on opening night last fall in tandem with Mike Conley's demotion and ever-decreasing skill set. This offseason, Naz Reid was traded.

Ayo Dosunmu was a Sixth Man of the Year candidate last year when the Wolves acquired him prior to February's trade deadline and he was re-signed this summer. However, he will effectively begin the season as a replacement for DiVincenzo after the latter tore his Achilles during the playoffs.

While the recent addition of Jonathan Kuminga all but confirms that Dosunmu will start the year coming off the bench, it's still a thinner unit than head coach Chris Finch is accustomed to having at his disposal. Let's rank the projected impact of each of the players who will come off the pine to support one of the league's best starting units.

1. Ayo Dosunmu

Just in terms of shot volume and positional flexibility, it's hard to answer the question of "who is the most important bench piece?" without starting with Ayo.

Dosunmu was fantastic last year, even while adjusting his game fairly dramatically following the deadline move to Minnesota. Overall, he averaged 14.8 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game in 69 regular season games between the Bulls and the Wolves. His three-point volume dipped when he came to the Twin Cities as he found himself in a slower-paced offense with the ball in his hands more often—a direct result of a lack of a viable point guard on Minnesota's roster.

While Dosunmu was a fantastic point guard at the University of Illinois and even won the Cousy Award for the NCAA's top point guard in his final year, his best impact in the half-court as a pro is as a second-side attacker and catch-and-shoot three-point threat. He's most effective in the open floor, when he puts pressure on the rim with his speed and is also a genuine outside threat (43.9% from three last year and 38% for his NBA career).

Coming off the bench, Dosunmu can play a true shooting guard role alongside LaMelo Ball or push the pace with the ball in his hands a bit more if he's paired with Anthony Edwards. The trio is also big enough to play together as well, even if it isn't for a significant chunk of minutes each night. And in those minutes or any minutes with Ball on the floor, Dosunmu is almost certain to draw the most challenging defensive assignment.

Dosunmu should easily lead the bench in minutes played and scoring. Combine that with his status as the team's best option to shadow scoring guards on a night-in and night-out basis, this side of Jaden McDaniels, and it's impossible to miss how important Ayo is to this Wolves roster.

2. Joan Beringer

There's a case to be made for Beringer as the most important upside player on the roster this year, full stop.

After all, there's precious little frontcourt depth; behind starters Kuminga and Gobert, there's only veteran Trey Lyles, who played in Europe last year, two-way player Rocco Zikarsky, and ... that's it. Sure, McDaniels will play some 4, as will natural wings Terrence Shannon Jr. and Cody Williams, but the point is, the frontcourt is thin.

Still, there's a cap on the number of minutes Beringer will play. Due to relative limitations on his offensive game, he's pretty much only a straight backup to Gobert at this point—and Gobert has played in 70-plus games in each of the last four seasons and five out of the last six. He also averages nearly 31 minutes per game for his career and hasn't shown signs of slowing down.

Of course, if Beringer develops a reliable jump shot earlier than expected (the bet here is that it will happen, it's just unlikely to happen this year) and the Wolves are comfortable playing him next to Gobert for a few minutes at a time, the ceiling of Beringer's impact gets ratcheted up significantly.

3. Terrence Shannon Jr.

If Dosunmu is the most important bench player and Beringer is the most important upside player, Terrence Shannon Jr. is likely to have the widest range of potential outcomes.

Why? Beringer may not be great on offense, but it's hard to find a world in which he's not impactful on defense. Due to the defense and the shooting, Dosunmu is very likely to be solid at worst—it's just a matter of if he scores enough to justify the new contract. When it comes to Shannon, we just aren't really sure what to expect.

While Shannon is already 26 years old, he's played in just two stop-and-start NBA seasons due to a combination of injury, inconsistency, and lack of opportunity.

He's shot 39.3% on three-point attempts as a pro—but he's only attempted 107 threes in the regular season. He had the unforgettable 24-point outburst in an expanded role during the Game 6 clincher over Denver in the first round last year—but then shrunk to average only 8.6 points in 25 minutes per game across the first five games of the second-round series lost to the Spurs.

The regular-season performances are in the same vein: when he gets heavy minutes, the scoring output is often there, even if it's a high-volume, tightrope experience. But when he's asked to play more of a niche role, the production stalls.

Will he be able to be a true role player on a team with plenty of scoring options? Or will he struggle with sporadic shot volume and be a defensive liability?

4. Cody Williams

Williams finds himself here not because of opportunity (it's possible that Jaylen Clark, Bones Hyland, and Trey Lyles could all be in front of him in the Opening Night rotation), but because if he ends up a legitimate, productive option, the bench unit could be elevated to levels similar to the Western Conference seasons.

The third-year wing was not good in Utah over the last couple of seasons, but the tools, size, and athleticism of the former lottery pick are real. He stands 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan and should be able to guard at least three positions. He shot 41.7% in his lone season at the University of Colorado but only 23.7% on 266 attempts across two seasons with the Jazz.

If he proves that he can function as a bit player in a bench role, he carries the size to play multiple positions and be a member of a variety of lineup combinations, including time as a small-ball power forward.

The argument here is on positional flexibility and upside; we know what Hyland, Lyles, and Clark are likely to provide. But is there more in there with Williams?

5. Jaylen Clark

Jaylen Clark was largely consistent from Year One to Year Two as a pro, save for the expected regression in three-point accuracy.

Clark is a fantastic on-ball defender. But he's just 6-foot-5 and is not a reliable three-point shooter nor a primary ball-handler. He's a great cutter and finishes well in the open floor, but to this point has been a liability in the half-court offense.

As it stands, it's tough to play him with other non-shooters, and without Reid on the roster to play minutes at the 5, the Wolves' offense is liable to get bogged down with both Clark and one of Gobert or Beringer on the floor together.

Still, he's so good defensively that if he finds a semi-consistent corner three-point shot he could be a regular contributor off the bench.

The Others: Bones Hyland, Trey Lyles, Isaiah Evans

We know what to expect from The Bones Hyland Experience: in a word, volatility. As a low-volume, solid veteran big man, Trey Lyles is likely to provide the exact opposite.

Both are limited in terms of what they'll be able to provide by nature of their lack of positional flexibility. Given his shooting and passing ability, Hyland could theoretically play with any backcourt combination. But his size and generally poor defense limit how realistic it is to play him alongside Ball or as part of potential three-guard units.

Lyles is fairly locked into being a power forward, although we could see some minutes with him at the 5 and Clark functioning as the 4. Lyles can stretch the floor a bit, and both are strong rebounders for their position.

Rookie guard Isaiah Evans will not sniff the rotation this year and struggled mightily at times in Las Vegas Summer League. While there's shooting and plenty of scoring upside, there's little argument to be made that he should see playing time ahead of anyone on this list.

In general, the bench is unlikely to be as productive as the Wolves bench units from each of the past three seasons. That said, there is upside here if Dosunmu plays like he did for much of last season and/or Beringer is ready to be a true rotation contributor.

The range of outcomes for the Wolves' reserve unit is likely to be one of the most intriguing storylines of the 2026-27 season.