Mike Conley will be 37 years old in October. While he’s fresh off one of his most prolific shooting seasons, it may be time to give him more rest so he can be effective in the back half of the season. While the Minnesota Timberwolves have high expectations and Conley is vital to their success, next year’s roster is much more structured and talented, allowing Conley more rest and recovery.
Conley has stayed healthy throughout his late 30s, playing 87.4% of games in the past three seasons. Still, the Wolves would be wise to be more careful with his playing load. Last year, Conley played 28.9 minutes per game, the third-lowest mark of his career behind his rookie season with the Memphis Grizzlies and age-34 season with the Utah Jazz.
Although the Wolves don’t emphasize load management, Conley deserves more opportunities to sit this upcoming season. At a minimum, they must manage his minutes.
However, if Conely is sitting, others will need to step up. The Wolves also lost Jordan McLaughlin, one of their longest-tenured players, this off-season when he signed with the Sacramento Kings. Therefore, who can the Wolves rely on to handle those on-ball duties?
In the modern NBA, teams rely on their best players to handle the ball as often as possible, meaning there are fewer “true point guards” in the league. Conley is about as much of a traditional point guard left in the game, even with his abilities to play off the ball as a shooter. Therefore, it can be challenging for another player to replicate his role.
Anthony Edwards could take over as the lead initiator. However, he has had his fair share of struggles as a playmaker because he often has difficulty toggling between his role as a playmaker and scorer. Edwards has shown the ability to take on this increased load throughout the regular season. Furthermore, many of these issues usually arose in the playoffs, not the regular season – a critical difference.
Ant posted impressive numbers in the 6 games that Conley sat last year. He averaged 27.2 points per game on 45.6/46.7/84.8 shooting splits. Most importantly, he averaged 6.8 assists per game. While assists are the best way to measure playmaking impact and overall ability to initiate offense for others, the level of comfort stood out. More reps are only going to make Ant a better initiator. Therefore, he’s Minnesota’s best option in this scenario.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker is Minnesota’s second-most comfortable bench option, and he got the starting nod when Conley sat his 6 games.
NAW played the combo guard role well at Virginia Tech. Therefore, it’s not far-fetched to think that the 3-and-D wing could step back into this role. While his handle is unreliable against pressure, he has always showcased the ability to facilitate for others. He’s a drive-and-kick threat while throwing some of the best skip passes on the roster.
However, the bigger factor is that the Wolves are more likely to initiate by committee if Conley sits. That makes it easier on NAW because he doesn’t need to take too big of a role, but he can also handle more duties than he usually does on a healthy roster.
Having a change-of-pace guard who can bring the ball up is vital, though. No one embodies this more than rookie Rob Dillingham. While it’s still difficult to project Rob’s Year-1 impact, his scoring pedigree and budding playmaking tools bring a semblance of intrigue to the bench and point guard positions.
The Wolves may limit Rob’s minutes at various points of the season. However, the games where Conley sits could open up opportunities for him, similar to how McLaughlin stepped in when they needed him to in the past.
While regular-season games are still incredibly important, the Wolves will enter the 2024-25 season with an elite mix of talent, continuity, and comfortability. It will allow others within the guard room to see more opportunities with Mike Conley, providing immediate help and a blueprint for the position moving forward.
Conley will be under contract for two more seasons. However, seeing what the Wolves have in other ball-handlers will help the Wolves. They’ll see Anthony Edwards as the lead initiator, evaluate Nickeil Alexander-Walker before he becomes a UFA at season’s end, and better understand what Rob Dillingham has to offer. That will be vital to future team success.
