Dan is joined by Derek James (@DerekJamesNBA), one of the smartest Minnesota Timberwolves insiders/analysts/writers around, to talk about—you guessed it!—the Minnesota Timberwolves in advance of the 2021-22 NBA season. They discuss the Wolves' interest in Ben Simmons, Year 2 expectations for Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns' place in the superstar hierarchy, D'Angelo Russell's value and role, lineup possibilities, Naz Reid, Jaden McDaniels' season, the 10-man rotation, Chris Finch's impact, Patrick Beverley and more! TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 🔘 2:03 - Intro 🔘 6:20 - Minnesota's offseason 🔘 10:05 - Ben Simmons talk 🔘 20:08 - Chris Finch's impact 🔘 23:51 - Can the defense be much better? 🔘 26:33 - Year 2 expectations for Anthony Edwards 🔘 29:33 - D'Angelo Russell's role/fit next to Ant 🔘 33:34 - Karl-Anthony Towns Appreciation Minutes 🔘 42:01 - Jaden McDaniels' ceiling 🔘 46:02 - The frontcourt rotation beside KAT: Naz Reid, Jarred Vanderbilt, McDaniels, etc. 🔘 47:21 - Top-10 rotation 🔘 50:00 - Minny's biggest weakness 🔘 51:15 - Trade candidates 🔘 53:34 - Best crunch-time lineup 🔘 56:08 - Quirky lineups we want to see 🔘 57:27 - Win-total prediction/Place in the West Host: @danfavale Host: @fromal09 Twitter: @HardwoodKnocks Instagram: @hardwood_knocks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices