It was a bit of a surprise when Terrence Shannon Jr. said during his exit interview last season that another trip to Summer League would be in consideration.
Shannon, who will be 25 at the end of the month, had an inconsistent rookie season. The Minnesota Timberwolves placed him in numerous situations throughout the year, but much of it was out of his control.
If it were not for unique circumstances last season, Shannon likely would have played a lot more.
Shannon made it clear that he was too good for G-League reps early. He averaged 36.5 points per game in 4 games assigned to Iowa. Unfortunately for Shannon, he suffered a mid-foot sprain in his final game with the Iowa Wolves, forcing him to miss three weeks.
Once Shannon was healthy, he had real flashes of opportunity in his rotational minutes. The Wolves gave him consistent playing time for a month because of injuries to Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, and Donte DiVincenzo. Still, once the injured players returned, he was relegated to the end of the bench.
The Timberwolves had a big decision to make this offseason with their core. They ultimately decided to re-sign Julius Randle and Naz Reid, while allowing Nickeil Alexander-Walker to sign with the Atlanta Hawks.
Much of the decision came down to whether they could replace the players they could have lost in free agency. Shannon’s potential to replace Alexander-Walker’s production at a much lower cost was the easiest pathway. Thus opening the way for Shannon to grow.
Shannon already looked better than the Summer League competition last season. He had 25 and 19 points in his first two games before coasting through the rest of Minnesota’s games.
This year at Summer League has been no different for Shannon. He has leveled up, demonstrating that he is fully prepared to fill the void left by Alexander-Walker and secure consistent rotational minutes for the Timberwolves.
In 3 games played, Shannon averaged 22.7 points on 47.6% from the field and 38.5% from three. Adding 6 rebounds and 5 assists per game.
Shannon has taken on an increased role with Minnesota’s Summer League team, allowing him to work through potential growth areas and showcase flashes of his potential impact abilities.
Determining context regarding the level of play in Summer League can be challenging. Still, the areas where Shannon has thrived are those where he has showcased his abilities in the past or is continuing to improve moving forward.
Shannon has demonstrated his ability to impact the game with and without the ball offensively. He has showcased a multifaceted game built around facilitating others as an advantage creator, finishing plays off the catch, and creating offense on his on-ball possessions for the Summer League Timberwolves.
However, Shannon has improved his passing the most.
Shannon has done it all, making the right extra pass while standing still, throwing one-handed laser skip passes cross-court to a corner teammate, and keeping his head up on downhill drives for a lob or dump-off pass.
Shannon will not have the pure on-ball reps in the regular season to perfectly match his Summer League performance. Still, there will be pockets where Shannon can showcase his improved passing flashes.
Even if he is only attacking closeouts and finding the open man, or surveying the floor quickly on his dribble drives, there’s a lot to be intrigued by in Shannon’s facilitation.
Similar to his role last season with the Timberwolves, Shannon has made great use of his athleticism to get downhill and attack tilted defenses. He’s also a tough cover off the catch. Even if defenders sag off, he possesses elite acceleration and a fearless approach to contact. Shannon has also shown the ability to knock down catch-and-shoot threes with enough success to keep defenses honest.
Shannon’s mix of unpredictability off the catch allows him to be dynamic. All that Shannon has to do is make the right decisions within his touches, and success will follow.
Finally, Shannon has had more freedom to create for himself off the dribble. He has played a role similar to the one he played during his time at Illinois. More freedom has allowed Shannon to take more ambitious shots, such as side-step threes.
Shannon has also been an outlet in transition. The combination of Shannon’s athleticism and willingness to play through contact can give the Timberwolves a boost to their transition attack, which ranked among the worst in the league last season.
It can be easy to fall into the Summer League trap. Still, Shannon has shown Vegas is the platform he needed to be ready for regular rotational minutes next season. All areas that he has thrived in offensively are areas that he can impact in regular-season games, even if his usage is diminished.
Stylistically, Shannon is a different player from Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Still, it’s reasonable to be bullish on how Shannon can recoup the impact off the bench for the Timberwolves moving forward.
