Takeaways from Timberwolves’ Summer League
The Timberwolves Summer League season reached its conclusion in the consolation round Saturday in Las Vegas Minnesota didn t lose a meeting in pool play but missed out on the semifinals thanks to point differential But there is plenty for Minnesota to dissect after a couple weeks of Summer League play with much of the incoming information looking positive Here are a meager things to take away from Minnesota s time in Las Vegas Not too much Yes it s the antithesis of this entire article which will dive into various aspects of the last two weeks and what it means for Minnesota s future But it s more a sense of what it could mean Because in reality it may mean very little Terrence Shannon Jr will be discussed below And he was dominant during his Summer League run for Minnesota But he will also turn years old at the end of the month and dominating this level of competition can mean very little For instance -year-old Jaylen Nowell dominated the Summer League for Minnesota four years ago Bones Hyland was equally great that summer at the age of Those summers weren t exactly launch pads to NBA prominence It s better to play well in Las Vegas than the alternative but also worth noting all results should be consumed with a grain of salt Shannon shines That declared Shannon was excellent for Minnesota as expected He scored with relative ease was part of Minnesota s overall harassing defense and just looked bigger faster and stronger than his competition on a night to night basis It was a continuation of a rookie campaign in which the wing shined in preponderance of his presented opportunities Minnesota tasked Shannon with more playmaking in Las Vegas and he presented an aptitude to do so at a passable level He was occasionally a little too turnover happy any thought of him starting alongside Anthony Edwards as the sole two guards in the lineup anytime soon would be ill-advised but Shannon does seem to be getting to the point where he can use his physical prowess to not only create opportunities for himself but others He figures to open next season with a role in the rotation and looks ready for it Beringer brings it In a stunning defensive display Joan Beringer had seven blocked shots in his Summer League debut The dominance wasn t quite as prevalent from there but it s easy to see the Wolves front office s vision for the -year-old center whom Minnesota selected No overall in June s draft Beringer is able to cover a lot of ground defensively effectively covering pick and rolls in multiple schemes He s also a dangerous rim runner who opened up the Wolves lob championship Regardless of how much opportunity is available to the Frenchman in next year s NBA season and there may be little the Summer League synopsis of his championship had to leave onlookers encouraged about what s to come What is Dillingham s fit Rob Dillingham was excellent in the second half of Minnesota s supremacy over Phoenix on Wednesday as he got ultra aggressive offensively to rally the Wolves to a win It was the point guard s best stint of the summer What was notable about that was it came in the encounter in which Shannon didn t play Minnesota was clear about its wishes for Dillingham to be more of a distributing point guard in Las Vegas but it remains obvious that s not the best version of Dillingham at the moment He s a dynamic scorer the type of which is usually best suited for a sixth-man role unless you are the elite of the elite Is that the role Dillingham will eventually assume on the organization Identity determined Minnesota s Summer League unit was defensively dominant and played with great force and purpose In that way it mirrored what the NBA club has established That the guys who have been sitting on the end of the bench for the last year or two can so closely mimic what they ve been watching is a testament to the organization s established identity and the buy-in that s been created Such performances in Las Vegas should only increase Timberwolves coach Chris Finch s confidence that if and when the time strikes for Minnesota s young guys to be more heavily leaned upon in the NBA rotation he can pull those levers without fear that Minnesota will lose itself as a crew Related Articles Tim Connelly wants continuity for the Timberwolves supposedly The next step for Timberwolves title pursuit More attention to detail Timberwolves depth delivers execution does not in Battle loss to Thunder Timberwolves ditch zone defenses for their fastball aggressive man to man With season on the line do Timberwolves need to go small
