After the Minnesota Timberwolves traded for LaMelo Ball in a deal that centered around Naz Reid and draft capital, one of the biggest questions naturally became: who will the Wolves' starting power forward be? Barring some roster changes, though, Jaden McDaniels seems to be the natural answer in my mind.
If all things stay the same, the Wolves could roll out a starting lineup that consists of Ball, Ayo Dosunmu, Anthony Edwards, McDaniels and Rudy Gobert. On paper, that might sound small, but everyone is 6-foot-4 and up.
While McDaniels has played the three for most of his career at 6-foot-9, he has more than enough size to play the four.
Jaden McDaniels can thrive as a power forward
Despite being an elite point-of-attack defender, one could argue that McDaniels is better suited for a defensive roamer role. Notably, McDaniels is coming off a season in which he averaged 1.5 blocks per 100 possessions, a number that ranked in the 95th percentile per Databallr.
McDaniels is awesome at the point-of-attack and I'm sure we'll see this version of him still at times. Regardless, McDaniels' blend of size and length makes him better suited for a role where he can wreak havoc off the ball.
If Edwards and Dosunmu can take on more POA duties, the Wolves' defense could remain elite.
On the other side of the ball, the Wolves are now littered with players who have a high level of comfort both on and off the ball. The Wolves can fully lean into their new identity of pace and space.
Not that Reid wouldn't have fit into this nicely, but to fully perfect it, a point guard was needed.
It stings to trade Reid, but given the talent upgrade that LaMelo brings to the team, this move needed to be made.
Without a doubt, the Wolves' offense will be much harder to gameplan against, given that Ball can take pressure off Edwards as a creator and playmaker.
Regarding Jaden playing the four, having that skilled of a creator as your four with an impressive backcourt around him will further add to how difficult the Wolves are to gameplan against.
The offensive advantages to this move are undeniable, even if you are skeptical about Ball. While who plays the four now is a reasonable question, I think McDaniels can slide perfectly into this role on both ends of the court, which adds another nice wrinkle to this move.
