Wolves season with expectations where they could actually meet them? What a strange time to be alive. To be clear, I have watched zero preseason minutes because the preseason is and always has been a red herring when it comes to predicting what happens during the season. No time to waste, let’s get to the latest Zeitgiest Player Power Rankings.
1. Anthony Edwards
The only thing that could stop Ant is the national media annoyingly referring to him as “Ant Edwards” instead of “Ant” or “Anthony Edwards.” Ant is coming off a summer of working on his midrange game, to the extent that he recently said “I ain’t shot any threes all summer.” Which I think and hope is an exaggeration, but with this man you can never tell.
Last year, really throughout the season, it became clear that Ant isn’t a great closer yet. I think it’s fair to think that he’ll get there, but he’s not there yet. The Timberwolves fourth quarter offense looks rough. He did finish third in “Clutch Player of the Year” voting, which frankly shows how much of a joke and just vibes that award is. But if Ant can add a viable midrange game, that’d huge. It’s well documented that he shot more threes than ever last year, and at a better percentage.
But not only did his midrange attempts decrease, so did their efficiency. In the 23-24 season 12.5% of his shots came from 10-16 feet and he shot 44.6% on those attempts, which was the league wide average. Last year those shots fell to 8.4% of his attempts, but he shot just 34.1%, way below the 44.3% league wide average. And the reality is that those attempts matter more in the fourth quarter and the playoffs because they minimize turnovers and when defenses lock in they’re better at preventing shots from 3 or at the rim.
What might matter even more is if he started moving off the ball better. He learned that if he gets the ball, passes it to Mike Conley, he’ll pass it right back and he can attack single coverage instead of a double. But if he takes it to the next level and moves better off ball he’ll not only get better opportunities when he’s not attacking a still set defense, his gravity will make it easier for the rest of the offense to get a basket.
There’s always the defense, which can come and go, and is always much better when he’s guarding on the ball against a star player. But realistically, he carries so much of the offense, especially with Mike aging, it’s not reasonable to expect him to be a regular season stopper. But if his off ball defense can tick up a bit that’d be huge too.
But that’s just basketball with Ant. There’s always something else too. This popped up in my YouTube feed, just cuz I guess.
I watched all of it. From Ant referring to Liam Neeson as “Leon Nelson” in the honorary mentions for White Boy of the Year, to Timothee Chalamet calling in from Budapest saying that “I’m working 12 hours, 14 hours a day, and usually I’m off my phone, but then they tell me ‘Hey Man, Ant wants to give you white boy of the year.’”
KG will forever and always be my favorite Timberwolf and NBA player, but the Wolves have never had a star like Ant. He’s at the center of the league.
2. Terrence Shannon Jr
Checking in at number 2 in the ZPPR is the one and only TSJ. Did you know he shot 10-15 of three during the preseason (and that he shot just 35% from three in college with the closer line)? Did you see his defense in the Western Conference Finals (when he played less than ten minutes a game and could ramp his intensity up to 11 at the drop of a hat because he only played in short spurts)? Can you imagine how dynamic the Wolves offense will be once he helps them get some easy transition buckets now that Finch is emphasizing the fast break more?
To be clear, I have watched zero preseason minutes. But I’ve heard lots of talk about how the Wolves are going to play faster and push to get easy points in transition this year, even if it comes at the expense of a couple more turnovers. I think it’s important to note that EVERY COACH OF EVERY TEAM SAYS THIS EVERY PRESEASON. This year the Wolves are emphasizing it a little more than they typically do, but they’ll run into a lot of the same challenges. Here are some fun numbers
So the Wolves used to be a push the pace team. They certainly were during the Ryan Saunders era and did it successfully when they made the playoffs in 2022. Then a couple things happened. The Wolves traded for Rudy Gobert and tried to keep their push the pace identity going, and it didn’t work. The offense was legitimately bad. They traded for Mike Conley, the pace slowed (a bit) in the 2023 season after that, and since then they’ve been near the bottom of pace in the league. And for what it’s worth in Gobert’s last three seasons in Utah, the Jazz weren’t able to really push the pace either, falling in the 18th-24th in the leaguewide rankings.
Yes, the Wolves are a different team than last year and theoretically pushing the pace could help them get some easy buckets. If it happens, TSJ is going to need to be part of it. But we know that turnovers and bad defense drive Finch crazy. So does doing shit that doesn’t lead to winning. And turnovers increase with pushing the pace and defensive rebounding can suffer too, with players leaking out early.
Anyhow, I’m not buying the push the pace narrative. As far as TSJ, he can be a valuable contributor and push the pace himself a bit from time to time (which would be good!) even if it doesn’t really change how fast the team plays as a whole. But when I heard Britt Robson mention that maybe TSJ can be a 6th man of the year candidate, I knew the hype train had left the station and that I was too late.
3. Jaden McDaniels
Everybody still loves Jaden and everybody still should love Jaden. There’s always going to be talk about his offensive game expanding as a creator, which would be great. He’s actually pretty good when he’s not spotting up from three. But I think any growth there is going to be limited because he’s going to spend a lot of his minutes with Julius and Ant, whereas Naz is more likely to get more of the focus on offense when those two aren’t on the court.
4. Julius Randle
Let’s remember we’re not that far removed from KG predicting the Wolves would beat the Lakers in the first round when everyone was picking the Lakers. And what was his logic? That Ant would outplay Luka, and that Julius Randle had the advantage over LeBron. People in the national media just don’t say things like that. And he was right! Julius totally outplayed LeBron in the playoffs. Yes, LeBron is quite possibly the GOAT but ancient and has been playing NBA basketball longer than Rob Dillingham has been alive. But he still outplayed Lebron in the playoffs. It was awesome. And he should be able to fit in better from the start of the season given the level of roster continuity the Wolves have.
5. Naz Reid
Fair or not, Naz dips a bit in the ZPPR with his new 5 year $125 million contract. I think it’s fair value, Christian Braun just got the same deal after all. A lot of national media folks were higher on NAW and thought the Wolves should have tried to do more to retain him instead, but in reality Naz has a more unique skill set. Plus, Naz Reid.
6. Rudy Gobert
It’s nuts how Rudy has become a little bit of an afterthought. I’ve always thought of him as a tremendous floor raiser but that he’s a big piece for your team it can be tough to break through to the absolute highest level. People focus on his defense when teams play five out, because sometimes someone like Luka Doncic can make him look foolish on a blow by or step back three. But Luka does that to lots of people. Honestly, Rudy’s defense is never the problem. He’s actually ok guarding at the perimeter, better than a lot of bigs. But having Rudy hang near the paint on offense can make life more difficult for Ant when he’s looking to finish near the rim. And if you try to move Rudy away from the paint and use him in the pick and roll a lot more, then his hands become an issue and turnovers increase.
But still, Rudy remains a defensive force and if Victor Wembenyama doesn’t get to 65 games he should be about an even money bet for defensive player of the year if the Wolves have the year they’re capable of having.
7. Jaylen Clark
Jaylen Clark might be the ninth man in an eight man rotation, but the way that he dials up the pressure on defense makes him a fan favorite. I expect him to play more meaningful playoff minutes this year.
8. Donte Divencenzo
The newly named starting point guard of the Minnesota Timberwolves creeps into the top eight ZPPR with a good amount of trepidation. He’s a talented shooter and seems like a much better fit as a sixth man. He’s never averaged more than 3.6 assists per game. I have serious questions about Rudy’s effectiveness in the starting lineup without Conley in the starting lineup. But on the other hand maybe his shooting and off ball movement make up for those things and he’s better defensively than Mike.
Not Ranked
Mike Conley
Rob Dillingham
Not great that neither of the two point guards on the Wolves roster are in the top eight. Mike is old and becoming more of a liability on defense. Rob is young and remains a liability on defense which couples poorly with his turnover prone nature. His 19.6% turnover rate was the highest on the team among the players that got any real minutes, the next highest was Julius Randle at 15.3%.
Joan Beringer
Gotta get some non summer league minutes before he can crack the ZPPR
Anything Was Possible 
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