The Minnesota Timberwolves returned to the 2025-26 season with 10 of their top 11 players. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who left for Atlanta in the offseason, was the lone player to depart. Through the preseason, they hadn’t been able to find his replacement. The Wolves had a handful of players looking at the end of the rotation, hoping to slide into the crucial role Alexander-Walker had filled over the past two and a half seasons.
The Wolves went with a tiered approach to replacing the eighth man in the rotations in Game 1 of the season. Terrence Shannon Jr., Jaylen Clark, and Bones Hyland all saw time as Chris Finch expanded the rotation to ten players. The committee role worked as the Wolves won the game, but it seems the Wolves still don’t have a clear pecking order on the bench.
First, Naz Reid and Mike Conley’s roles should be considered locks for the beginning of the season. Reid is still a dynamic player and has a vital role in Minnesota’s long-term success, despite the lackluster six-point performance in the season opener in just under 20 minutes of play. Likewise, Conley gets priority for a long-term bench role due to his importance and history with the Wolves.
Aside from those two, the rest of the bench remains a competitive conundrum. Shannon played well, scoring ten points, five assists, and five rebounds while adding a steal in a smidge over 25 minutes in the game. He finished as a plus-5 and a 9.1 net rating. He hit 2 of 5 on 3-point attempts and was trusted multiple times to break the Portland Trail Blazers’ ball pressure to get the ball up court in the second half. His aggressive driving occasionally proved detrimental, and he had some wild shots while falling off balance. He also had a pair of turnovers, including a crucial miscue in the fourth quarter.
Shannon ultimately filled a role similar to Alexander-Walker’s as a secondary creator and contributor. His performance was fine. Not excellent, but not bad either. He seemed to struggle at times when matched up against more savvy ball handlers like Deni Avdija, which resulted in his defensive rating (118.2) ranking third-worst among Minnesota’s players, behind only Conley and Reid. While the defensive rating reflects a team effort, and Shannon played large minutes without Rudy Gobert, it’s still noticeable that his rating is among the three worst in the game.
On the other hand, Clark excelled defensively in his 16:27 of game play. He had the second-best defensive rating on the team at 102.7. It met the eye test as Clark was a game-changing defender in the opener. In his three minutes in the second quarter, he posted a 75.0 defensive rating. His ability to pressure ball handlers and the energy he brought helped turn the tide in the fourth quarter, as he posted an 80.0 defensive rating and a plus-20 net rating in the final frame.
Alas, Clark had shortcomings offensively. He only shot 1 of 5 and 0 of 2 from 3. He finished with just two points, and some of his misses were wide-open shots where the Trail Blazers really didn’t show much interest in guarding him at all. Clark also had a costly turnover on a travel call in the first half. It was his lone turnover in the game, which his two steals made up for.
The Wolves surprised a lot of people by playing Hyland over second-year guard Rob Dillingham. Hyland played well enough that starting guard Donte DiVincenzo didn’t play in the fourth quarter, and Hyland got all 7:43 of his playing time in the final 12 minutes.
Hyland finished plus-5 and led the team in net rating (38.3), posting a team-best 75.0 defensive rating. The team’s assist percentage, or the percentage of baskets coming off assists, soared to 80.0% in his minutes. Hyland finished with only two points, two rebounds, one assist, and one turnover. Although he didn’t produce counting stats, Minnesota’s ball movement was significantly better when Hyland was on the floor. He had four assists on their five baskets and shot 50% while he was in the game.
Hyland’s defense was also fairly on point. His length made up for his lack of size, and he defended well enough, especially in the three minutes he played with the starters minus DiVincenzo, in which Minnesota’s defense posted a 57.1 defensive rating.
Shannon, Clark, and Hyland all had a significant impact on Minnesota’s ability to come back and win the game in Portland. Ultimately, the Wolves won because of Anthony Edwards’ individual greatness. However, three players looking to replace Alexander-Walker’s impactful play were the reason they had a chance.
The competitive end of the rotation minutes should lead to more of these moments for the Wolves. It allows Finch to ride a hot hand like Hyland in the fourth, trust Clark to shift the energy in the second, and let Shannon continue to grow in his role. It also allows the Wolves to overcome poor games from Divincenzo, Reid, and Conley.
The Wolves are just one game into the season, and the Alexander-Walker replacement is far from settled. Still, the replacement-by-committee plan worked to perfection in Portland.