Many things have changed for the Minnesota Timberwolves since the start of this season, and Jake Layman has found himself out of the rotation. Layman was a starter at the beginning of the season and seemed to be a decent fit for the team, but the former Maryland Terrapin has only seen the court for 25 minutes in the past 11 games. Whether it’s the coaching change, the emergence of rookie Anthony Edwards, or that he’s simply not bringing enough to the table, the 27-year-old is not getting much playing time lately.
Minnesota completed a sign-and-trade with the Portland Trail Blazers to land Layman in the summer of 2019. He signed a three-year, $11.28 million contract upon arrival, which expires after next season. It will be interesting to see what Gersson Rosas and Chris Finch decide to do with the 6’8” forward going into next year, considering he only carries a dead cap hit of $3.9 million if the Wolves decide to move on.
Whether he was a “loss casualty” and the team just needed to switch things up after dropping so many games in such a short period, Layman has gone from starting and dunking all over people to watching most games from the best seat in the house.
One obvious reason is that Layman and Edwards play the same position. Naturally, the first-overall pick in the draft will be given ample opportunity to improve throughout the year.
He also has not been a proficient 3-point shooter since arriving in Minnesota. He has never excelled as a 3-point shooter, but Layman shot decently last season from deep, making 33.3% of his attempts in his first season with the Wolves. The NBA average is around 36% every year. However, the second-round draft pick dropped off a little from last season’s mark and is only sinking 29.3% of his threes this season.
So on top of being a not-so-great deep shooter in a 3-point-oriented league, Layman also doesn’t bring a ton of versatility. He averaged nine points, 2.5 rebounds, and two fouls in 22 minutes per game last season. However, role players also bring intangibles that do not show up in the box score.
Jarred Vanderbilt is a good example of a player who contributes in multiple ways. He is averaging 18 minutes per game this year and is putting up 5.3 points, 5.6 boards, an assist, and a steal per game. Looking at the strengths and weaknesses of Minnesota’s current roster, they are in desperate need of players who excel in hustle stats. For a player like Layman, a scorer and not much else, it’s going to be tough to find minutes when the players in front of you can offer more.
Since taking over the team, Finch has emphasized floor spacing and 3-point attempts. If you cannot contribute on the offensive end, you damn well better be a solid defender or at least make some eye-opening plays each game.
But Layman offered a good example of what he brings to the team in last night’s loss to the Boston Celtics. In 15 minutes off the bench, the small forward had five points on 2-5 shooting and hauled in two rebounds. Yes, Layman reminded the fans of his athleticism with a massive dunk over 7’5” Tacko Fall, but a 2-point basket down by 20 late in the fourth quarter doesn’t drive winning.
The Wolves entered the season with a hole at power forward. Rosas mentioned at the time that a combination of Layman and Vanderbilt could help address that need, “We’re not going to fill a box just to fill a box,” Rosas said in an interview on the Chad Hartman show.
Fortunately for the Wolves, one of those players mentioned above did nicely fill a void for Minnesota. But Layman was left as the odd man out. My best guess is that Layman will be wearing a different jersey to start next season — not because of his skillset, but rather his fit on this young squad.
