Timberwolves' ball-handler issues are derailing epic Anthony Edwards season

Anthony Edwards has improved at all levels of shooting this season. If the Minnesota Timberwolves can't get him more backcourt help, it may not matter this season.

Edwards is scoring a career-best 28.7 points per game and shooting 50 percent from the field this season. Thanks to Edwards and an excellent starting lineup, the Wolves have averaged 119.6 points per game, seventh in the NBA. But Minnesota has been limited by a bench that isn't providing much outside of Naz Reid, and it's the backcourt that's especially lacking.

Rob Dillingham and Terrance Shannon are having sophomore slumps

The Timberwolves have an expensive roster thanks to sizable deals for Edwards, Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle. Last summer, they traded Karl-Anthony Towns and extended Gobert as a means of getting under the second luxury tax apron. To fill put the roster more cheaply, they added two rookies: point guard Rob Dillingham, who they traded up to draft at No. 8, and wing Terrance Shannon, drafted at No. 27.

Dillingham has shot poorly this season, hitting only 28.6 percent of his three-pointers and 34.8 percent overall. He's been replaced in the rotation by Bones Hyland, though both are small guards who don't hold up well defensively.

Shannon had some big scoring performances in last year's playoffs, but he's gone from shooting 48.2 percent from the floor last year to 40.7 percent this season. His three-point shot has been solid but Shannon has been awful from the mid-range, shooting only 57.9 percent near the basket and only 14.3 percent on shots between three and 10 feet of the hoop. Like Dillingham, he doesn't pass much or make up for those deficiencies on the defensive end.

Anthony Edwards has been incredible in the clutch

What's lacking is a true point guard who can play more than 38-year-old Mike Conley, who is playing 19 minutes per game and can't score off the dribble anymore — he takes 70 percent of his shots from three-point range, with less than eight percent of them coming off the dribble. Especially late in games.

Edwards has eye-popping shooting numbers in clutch situations. He's making two-thirds of his shots overall and 55.6 percent of his threes. But he's only third in average points in the clutch because he's only 11th in shot attempts. That's a clear sign the Wolves aren't getting him the ball enough.

Donte DiVincenzo is a solid player, but he and Edwards are both natural shooting guards. The Wolves don't need to bring in a star to handle the ball; just someone who can be an average passer and defender, who is more of a threat off the dribble than Conley. It's not the toughest ask, and after more players become eligible for trades next week, the Wolves sound ready to make a deal.

They've reportedly called about Coby White of the Chicago Bulls, an impending free agent. In a competitive Western Conference, the Wolves should make a move sooner than later. When Edwards is playing this well, the future is now for Minnesota.