Nickeil Alexander-Walker arrived in the Twin Cities as an add-on to the Mike Conley trade. However, the Minnesota Timberwolves have put him in a scoring role after trading D’Angelo Russell to the Los Angeles Lakers. Alexander-Walker has been traded four times in his four years in the league. The defense-oriented wing had yet to find himself a home after starting out slow with the New Orleans Pelicans, but he may have found one here.
Before arriving in Minnesota, it seemed like the Utah Jazz were the perfect fit for Walker. After trading away Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, there was a lot of real estate left in Utah’s rotation. That created an opportunity for Lauri Markkanen, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Alexander-Walker to step up and cement their place in the rotation. Markkanen seized it and solidified his place as an All-Star. Away from all the Hollywood drama, THT is having the best all-around season of his career. However, Alexander-Walker could not find similar success.
Alexander-Walker only averaged 6-2-1 in Utah. Given his disappointing play, the Jazz were willing to throw him into the Conley trade. But once he arrived in Minnesota, Alexander-Walker thrived. It took Alexander-Walker four games until he played his first meaningful minutes with the Timberwolves. But once he did, he came out strong. In his first five games playing real minutes, NAW averaged 10-2-2 on 43% efficiency while hitting 50% of his threes on 5 attempts per game. It looked like Alexander-Walker may have cemented himself a spot in Minnesota’s rotation.
Fortunately for Alexander-Walker, injuries to key players like Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and Jaylen Nowell created voids in the rotation. Luckily for the Timberwolves, NAW temporarily filled them with his shotmaking and defensive prowess. However, Minnesota is returning to full strength. KAT made an emphatic return against the Atlanta Hawks, and Edwards will probably return against the Golden State Warriors. That will be huge for the Wolves. But it means Alexander-Walker will have to fight even harder to stay in the rotation.
The November 19th game vs. the Philadelphia 76ers was the last time Minnesota’s rotation looked fully healthy:
Here’s what it looked like in KAT’s first game back:
With the exception of Edwards replacing Kyle Anderson, the starting lineup will likely be the same as the Hawks’ game for the rest of the year. But things will get interesting on Minnesota’s bench.
The Timberwolves rotation against Atlanta was still a little funky because Edwards and McLaughlin were out, but it’s a good basis to see where NAW can squeeze in. Instead of Anderson playing 35 minutes, those will be Edwards’ minutes. But Anderson still gets 21 minutes a game, so he’ll be the minutes leader off the bench. Then Taurean Prince will likely still keep that role as the second man off the bench, with around 18 minutes a game. McLaughlin and Naz Reid usually play around 15 minutes each. Therefore, that would leave Nowell and Alexander-Walker fighting for the final 8 to 10 minutes.
It was never gonna be easy for NAW to stay in the rotation; the Timberwolves have too much talent to squeeze into 240 minutes. After his first five games, there seemed to be a chance. But Alexander-Walker’s last 8 games have left a poor impression. Alexander-Walker has only averaged 6-2-2 in his last 8. And as he regresses to his mean, his minutes will slip. Poor performance and the team around him getting healthier will leave NAW on the outside looking in. If he wants to give himself a chance, he’s gonna have to learn how to perform in limited minutes.
Once Edwards and McLaughlin return, some of NAW’s minutes with be absorbed by the pair. His 17 minutes per game will likely diminish to something similar to the 8 to 10 minutes Nowell played against the Hawks.
The rotation is almost set in stone, but there’s still some room for some new names carved in. Alexander-Walker still has a fighting chance to convince Chris Finch that he deserves minutes. Although the 10th spot in the rotation is available right now, most coaches use a 9-man rotation in the playoffs.
The easiest way for NAW to improve his minutes is to return back to the form he was in for his first five games in Minnesota. If he can do that, he could challenge McLaughlin for some of his minutes. Although McLaughlin is a valuable playmaker, his shooting leaves him at an obvious disadvantage on the court.
NAW can still be a valuable asset for Finch even after the Wolves return to full strength. He’s certainly one of the team’s best point-of-attack defenders. And he could be a useful back for Jaden McDaniels, who occasionally runs into foul trouble.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker has yet to find himself a home. But if he finishes off this regular season hot, he could find himself playing playoff basketball very soon.
