The Timberwolves could afford to wait out LeBron James’ decision because there weren’t exactly a lot of great options available upon which to miss out. With only minimum contracts available, they signed Trey Lyles, who played for Tim Connelly in Denver, after he spent last season in Europe. But other bigger names such as Rui Hachimura, Sandro Mamukelashvili and John Collins all signed deals for far more than the Wolves could offer.
Conventional wisdom would then lead to the assumption that, given his 6-foot-10 frame and rim-protecting abilities, Jaden McDaniels would slide to power forward in the starting lineup. But Wolves coach Chris Finch made it clear to The Athletic that he is not thinking that way at the moment.
“I see Jaden playing largely the same role he’s always played,” Finch said. “But of course he can slide over to play four, and you get a chance to get other guys on the floor.
“If that’s what we feel at the end of training camp is the best thing for us, then of course we’ll do it,” Finch said of more power forward minutes for McDaniels. “But that’s not necessarily my mindset going in. My mindset going here right now is way more open and lean into other things, whether it be creativity or finding a guy or the right guys across both lineups, first and second, that unlock it.”