Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders has a bit of a logjam on his hands. That's because Saunders, in his role as team president, has assembled a roster full of players who need frontcourt minutes. Between No. 1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns, veteran Nikola Pekovic, super-veteran Kevin Garnett, Euroleague MVP Nemanja Bjelica, shot-blocker Gorgui Dieng, former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett, stretch 4 Damjan Rudez and potential stretch 4 Adreian Payne, a few players are not going to be happy about their minutes.
You'd think Saunders would be anticipating a training-camp battle to determine who will start at both spots, but he told Grantland's Zach Lowe that he knows exactly who's starting at power forward. Spoiler alert: it's the 39-year-old.
Is KG going to start?
He's gonna start. That’s who he is. KG is a starter. He's the best power forward on our team, actually. No one rebounds better. He's the best help defender. No one communicates better. He knows the offense, and he can pass it.
Does that include Towns, or is he a center? A hybrid? Does it matter?
It doesn't matter. He's a player. Good teams have guys that can play multiple positions. It makes them harder to guard. Besides, it's not what position you play. It’s what position you can guard. Some nights, Towns will guard power forwards and KG will guard centers. Some nights, it will be the other way around.
Will Towns start over Pek?
Well, Pek is still hurt. And we have another guy who isn't bad in Gorgui Dieng.
Saunders added that Shabazz Muhammad can still play Andrew Wiggins and Shabazz Muhammad there in smallball lineups, which is a cool thought but also confusing. Even without doing that, it's hard to see how there's going to be enough playing time to go around.
As for Garnett, it might be a little surprising to hear that Saunders still thinks of him as a starter. The 20-year (!) vet only played 47 games last season, including just five after his deadline-day move to Minnesota. He's also been regressing for the past few seasons, and he's usually talked about as a teacher and leader rather than a contributor on the court.
It's not necessarily a bad thing, though, to start Garnett. He'll likely have limited minutes, anyway, and he's still obviously a great leader and intelligent player. It's just questionable whether he'll actually remain in that role all season.
You also have to wonder how many of the Wolves' big men will be around after the trade deadline. Having too much depth is preferable to having a total lack of talent, but it's still an issue. As an executive and a coach, Saunders will probably shuffle some of his pieces around in the next few months.
