The Timberwolves' Preseason Will Be Anything But Boring

But for a Wolves team that's turned over its roster and leaves plenty of minutes up for grabs on the bench, there are plenty of intriguing storylines heading in. Last year around this time, the wonder was how a team drenched in continuity would come out of the gate and if Rob Dillingham was going to take the next step.

This season, riddled in the unknown, the first few exhibition games will tip hands on what one of the most talked about teams of the offseason may look like.

The starting five's first look

For the first time publicly, a starting five with two new crucial faces will take the floor. The constants will be Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert. But an expanded role for Jaden McDaniels awaits, a new high-usage player finds his way in in Jonathan Kuminga, and point guard of the franchise moving forward in LaMelo Ball are all new variables that will be working together.

It would be hard to imagine the group, especially a 34-year-old Gobert playing much, but how they play together and feel each other out against teams that aren't their own scout team will be interesting to watch. Do they push pace? Do they get Gobert involved more deliberately? How does Edwards respond to the abundance of change around him?

The biggest x-factor to this will be Kuminga. One of the things that will be clear early will be how his style of play melds into the group. He won't be diving for basketballs or committing hard fouls in exhibition play, but his activity in cutting and amount he calls his own number will be things to watch for. It's been clear that an area of emphasis for him has been his catch and shoot three—the other side of the coin is his off-ball movement to open those up.

Joan Beringer...that's it

For Joan Beringer, the preseason might as well be the start of the regular season.

The Timberwolves' sophomore big man, simply put, is a lynchpin for the team's success this season. Behind him in the rotation is Trey Lyles. In a perfect world, Lyles only sees the floor in blowouts.

Bookended by that is the fact that Beringer is the last frontier of young player for the Wolves to develop and continue to more their timeline along. They're out of first round picks, and the still-teenage Beringer made several promising spot appearances into the rotation last season.

Whether during the dress rehearsal or the regular season, Beringer's progress can start to be scored early. His ability to move on the floor, catch passes, and stay out of foul trouble will be important elements to keep an eye on. His high foul rate will need to come down in order for him to stay on the floor and keep up his high block rate from a season ago.

On paper, Beringer will fit like a glove with a second unit hellbent on running the floor and playing with pace. His athleticism will make him an ideal lob threat. But how much tread will he actually get with them? Will Finch rotate him in with the starters? Who are the bulk of his frontcourt minutes with, and with whom is he most effective?

The youth in waiting

In the wake of the starters not playing regular season minutes come the group of guys who likely won't be seen during the regular season unless there's a fire.

In the multitude of moves Tim Connelly and company made this summer, new faces, and a couple familiar ones are in the fold.

Cody Williams is the headliner of the former group. Occupying the "Julian Phillips" slot from last season as an athletic wing that has intrigue with the front office, Williams has had a well-documented rocky start to his career as a top-10 NBA draft pick. But he finds himself in an ideal situation.

Reclamation projects have found success in Minnesota due to the ability for Finch to strip someone's game down to the studs and build it back up. When Nickeil Alexander-Walker did just that three years ago, it paid dividends for a player who tried to do too much as a turnover-prone guard. Now, he's a three-and-D combo who has built his playmaking chops back up.

For Williams, a similar use case could apply. Using his athletic frame the get to the basket and working his offensive attack from the inside out, the main thing to watch for the newly-acquired wing will be his shot selection within the flow of the offense. The problem is, the regular season minutes won't be there for him—so we have the preseason.

What about Zyon Pullin? Finishing 12th in scoring per game in Summer League this offseason, Pullin offers optimism as the emergency two-way guard on the roster. A 6'4" frame with a fearlessness of putting pressure on the rim, it will be interesting to see how the developmental point guard, as well as the stretch forward nature of Enrique Freeman, play against better competition than they did in Las Vegas.

Boring preseason who?