Sexual assault allegations and the ensuing court case caused Terrence Shannon Jr. to fall to the Minnesota Timberwolves at 27th overall. Early in the season, draft experts considered Shannon a rising lottery pick early in the NCAA season. The Wolves trusted the legal process and drafted Shannon.
“Oftentimes, the minute you’re accused, you’re found guilty,” Tim Connelly said regarding the allegations. “Thankfully, he [went through] the legal process. He chose to go to trial because he knew he did nothing wrong. I just think it’s a shame he went through that, and I think it’s a testament to who he is as a kid and his ability to play through a really tough distraction.”
In December, a woman at a bar in Lawrence, Kan. accused Shannon of felony rape and aggravated assault, and Illinois suspended him for six games. Throughout the process, Shannon remained true to his conviction of innocence, and a Kansas jury found him not guilty of any wrongdoing.
In selecting Shannon, the Timberwolves followed their history of trying to find a do-it-all backup guard. The Wolves constantly pursued a long-term backup point guard in the Chris Finch era. This year, they took shot-creating guard Rob Dillingham with the eighth overall pick and then Shannon at 27. Shannon seems to be far more similar to Minnesota’s history and what Finch has looked for in a backup point guard.
Finch has had one mainstay on the roster since 2020-21, Jordan McLaughlin, a free agent. Plenty of other backup guards have come and gone. Jaylen Nowell, Jarrett Culver, and Malik Beasley were all on that first 2020-21 roster Finch inherited from Ryan Saunders. In 2021-22, the Wolves added Beverly and kept Nowell and Beasley. Nowell returned in 2022-23, and they signed Austin Rivers and drafted Wendell Moore Jr. before trading for Nickeil Alexander-Walker at the deadline.
Last season, Finch and the Wolves tried everything to find the second guard off the bench. McLaughlin had his moments. They signed Shake Milton and gave him an opportunity before trading him for Monte Morris. Connelly knew Morris from Denver, and Morris also had moments, but he signed with the Phoenix Suns in the offseason. Moore never got much playing time, and Alexander-Walker proved to be a much better off-ball than an on-ball guard on offense. As a result, the Wolves entered the playoffs with Alexander-Walker as their only guard off the bench.
In this upcoming season, the Wolves appeared to have the same conundrum they had before the draft because McLaughlin, Morris, and pseudo-guard Kyle Anderson are all free agents. Therefore, they used the draft to improve their guard rotation.
First, they drafted a high-upside shot-maker in Dillingham who admittedly could be more of a multi-year project before the 19-year-old reveals his potential. But Shannon is a 23-year-old rookie, making him the sixth-oldest player on the Wolves roster. He should come ready to play because he has already developed into his 6’6”, 219 lbs. frame. More importantly, his skill set should help solve what the Timberwolves have been looking for since Finch took over.
Finch and Minnesota’s defense, which led the NBA in defensive rating, will be a seamless fit for Shannon, who has the size and speed to defend guards and forwards. He has shown the ability to switch on defense, and his experience indicates he’ll be a capable defender if the Timberwolves play him immediately.
Shannon had positive defensive win shares in both his seasons at Illinois and his three years at Texas Tech. He also had a sub-100 defensive rating in four out of his five college seasons, with the lone outlier being a 105.7 rating last season. While the talent around a player can inflate ratings and win shares, Shannon’s consistency over a five-year sample size across two teams suggests the defensive ability should carry over to the NBA.
Offensively, Shannon also fits Finch’s scheme. Finch runs a pass-heavy offense that relies on pick-and-roll initial actions followed by multiple passes to attack a mismatch. At its best, the offense hunts slower defenders and capitalizes on poor rotations. But Finch’s offense can also cause turnovers due to difficult passes or players not buying in and causing the ball to stick. This is where Shannon fits in. He has an elite ability to score the ball and the potential to develop into a competent passer.
In his final college season, Shannon proved he can score at volume. He scored 23.0 points per game on 47.5% shooting from the field and 36.2% from three on 6.7 attempts per game. Shannon shot 80.1% on free throws, shooting 8.6 per game. Scoring aside, Shannon puts himself in a similar situation for the Wolves as Alexander-Walker. Shannon has valuable skills, but to develop more of a role on the Wolves roster, he will need to become more than just a competent passer.
Shannon averaged only 2.0 assists last season despite having a 29.2% usage. That means roughly three of Illinois’ ten possessions ended with the ball in Shannon’s hands. He averaged 2.3 assists and 2.0 turnovers, resulting in a 1.15 assist-to-turnover ratio.
However, digging deeper, you see more of Shannon’s playmaking woes. His 12.9% assist percentage means that of the 30% of possessions, just 12.9% were assists. Despite his usage, only 3.87% of Illinois’ plays ended in a Shannon assist. While that number seems low, it gets more concerning when looking at Shannon’s 9.8% turnover percentage, which resulted in 2.94% of Illinois’ total plays ending in a Shannon turnover. Shannon’s playmaking must improve for him to crack Minnesota’s rotation.
Connelly capitalized on Shannon’s fall in the draft and did his due diligence on him. “The off-court reputation is sterling,” he said. “Talk to the coaches at Texas Tech. Talk to the coaches at Illinois. They don’t say good things. They say amazing things.”
Because Shannon fell to them, the Wolves have two opportunities to hit on a backup guard to pair with Alexander-Walker. While Dillingham is inexperienced, Shannon is more of a known commodity. With Shannon’s legal woes completed and his character not in question, the Wolves will give him opportunities. However, the Wolves will need one of their first-round picks to work out better than their past options to advance in the playoffs.
