Timberwolves’ coach Tom Thibodeau is still getting a feel for much of his team, but one thing he already knows: He likes his second unit.
“It has played very well, so far,” Thibodeau said. “Now, once we get to games, we’ll see if that carries over. But I like the depth.”
“Depth” and “Timberwolves” haven’t been paired in the same sentence for quite some time, unless you were commenting that Minnesota didn’t have any.
But a second unit that could feature players such as Kris Dunn, Shabazz Muhammad, Brandon Rush, Nemanja Bjelica and Cole Aldrich is at least intriguing.
Dunn was a Top 5 pick in last spring’s NBA Draft, and Muhammad averaged 17 points for the Wolves last April. Brandon Rush started 25 games for Golden State last season, and Bjelica was the 2015 EuroLeague MVP. Aldrich, posted some of the best numbers in the NBA for the time he spent on the court for the Clippers last season.
And that doesn’t even mention guys like Tyus Jones, a first-round draft pick in 2015, and Jordan Hill, another veteran signing for Minnesota this offseason.
Dunn said Bjelica and Rush are some of the easiest guys to play with because of how well they can space the floor with their outside shooting. Thibodeau suggested that unit could be difficult to guard if it pushes the ball up the floor.
“We’ve really been playing well as a team, and just doing the things that coach has been trying to tell us,” Muhammad said. “… I can’t wait to get out there and start playing with these guys.”
Thibodeau said adding depth was one of the team’s primary objectives this offseason. He and general manager Scott Layden achieved that with the signings of Aldrich, Rush and Hill. All three have at least six years of NBA experience and have played for winning teams. Those were important qualities, Thibodeau said, particularly for a Minnesota team flush with players in their early 20s.
“You want a balance. You don’t want to be too young, you don’t want to be too old,” he said. “But the experienced guys, they still have to be able to play. If you’re old and it’s hard for you to contribute every day in terms of practicing and playing, I don’t think it has the same impact.”
Starting point guard Ricky Rubio called Minnesota’s depth “amazing.”
“As better as our second unit is, we’re going to be a better team,” Rubio said. “So, that’s what we’re looking for pushing forward to a long season. It’s 82 games, we’re going to need depth and a bench.”
That’s something Rush discovered during his time in Golden State. Sure, the Warriors had stars in Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, but the players around them weren’t bad, either.
“It’s very important for the guys to know that they need their supporting cast to be those type of star players, to have big games when things aren’t going right for them,” Rush said.
That was one of the main reasons the Warriors thrived throughout a long NBA season, winning the title in 2014-15 and an NBA-record 73 games last season. Rush said Golden State chemistry throughout the roster that “paid out pretty well for us.”
Karl-Anthony Towns said the veteran free agent signings this offseason have helped build “a great locker room.”
“They give us that intensity, that passion also, and that love of the game is awesome,” Towns said. “That’s what we needed and we made some great signings. … We have a team that’s built around winning tradition.
“We all understand that we’re in this together. No matter if you play 40 minutes, you play one minute or you don’t play at all, we’re all giving our best whether it be in practice, game, being a great teammate. That’s what it all comes down to.”
