What Will the Timberwolves’ Identity Be Without Karl-Anthony Towns?

On today’s show, Dane is joined by Minnesota Timberwolves beat writer, Jace Frederick of the St. Paul Pioneer Press to discuss the Wolves taking the necessary early steps toward finding an identity in the absence of Karl-Anthony Towns.

The majority of the conversation centers on the idea of which players will be instrumental in creating that identity. But before getting into all of that, Dane and Jace touch on the Wolves’ signing of former Los Angeles Lakers wing Matt Ryan to a two-way contract.

— What do we make of the Matt Ryan signing? Something or a nothing-burger? What will he bring to the Wolves? Should he get a shot in the rotation or will he spend most of his time down in Iowa on the G-League team?

— What do we think the KAT-less identity of this team will prove to be during this stretch? How will that impact what the teams looks like when Towns does return from his right calf strain? Will Head Coach Chris Finch be able to better maximize Rudy Gobert’s impact on both ends of the floor?

— What are the non-Gobert minutes going to look like in KAT’s absence? Will Naz Reid and Kyle Anderson dominate those minutes or might we see Iowa Wolves star Luka Garza and/or Nate Knight find their way into the rotation?

— We’ve talked about Anthony Edwards needing to step up as a leader in KAT’s absence. What has that leadership looked like? What might it look like going forward without KAT? Will it or should it dissipate when Towns returns?

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