The Timberwolves’ Summer League season reached its conclusion in the consolation round Saturday in Las Vegas. Minnesota didn’t lose a game 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 few 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 25 years old at the end of the month, and dominating this level of competition can mean very little.
For instance, 22-year-old Jaylen Nowell dominated the 2022 Summer League for Minnesota four years ago. Bones Hyland was equally great that summer at the age of 20. 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 said, 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 most of his presented opportunities.
Minnesota tasked Shannon with more playmaking in Las Vegas, and he showed 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 18-year-old center, whom Minnesota selected No. 17 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 game.
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 game 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 victory 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 game 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 team?
Identity determined
Minnesota’s Summer League team was defensively dominant and played with great energy 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 team.
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