Wolves rookie McDaniels emerging into reliable playmaker

President of basketball operations Gersson Rosas has a vision for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

After making big changes to the Wolves’ roster at the 2019-20 trade deadline, Rosas has surrounded All-Stars Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell with a core of promising young talent.

Each Thursday, we’ll be tracking the progress of these young players while also keeping up with the G League Iowa Wolves to see who will rise to the challenge of bringing a consistent, winning team to Minnesota.

This is the 12th edition of the 2020-21 Young Wolves Tracker.

SPOTLIGHT ON …

Forward Jaden McDaniels

Now that LaMelo Ball is out for the season with a wrist injury, Minnesota has the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award on roster in Anthony Edwards, the top pick of the 2020 draft.

But McDaniels, the other 2020 first-round pick (No. 28 overall) by Minnesota, could be making a late push to potentially join Edwards on the All-NBA Rookie team.

Over the last four games, McDaniels has logged double-digit points — 14 apiece in both contests against Houston, 13 vs. Brooklyn and 18, two points shy of his career high, against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night. It’s the first time over his young career McDaniels has registered double-digit points in consecutive games, and that four-game streak will extend to the Timberwolves’ clash Friday against Memphis.

It didn’t all come together immediately.

McDaniels only played five of the Wolves’ opening 11 contests, and he didn’t see more than 12 minutes on the floor until Jan. 20. That’s when he popped for the first time. McDaniels blocked three shots that night against the Orlando Magic and racked up 12 points and eight boards.

Since then, McDaniels has played 35 of Minnesota’s next 36 games, has notched multiple blocks in 12 of them and double-digit points 10 times. On the season, he ranks second in total blocks (43) among rookies, second only to Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart, the 16th overall pick of the 2020 draft. His 43 blocks are also good for 32nd overall in the league.

In his effort against Brooklyn on Monday, McDaniels became the third Wolves rookie in franchise history to notch 13+ points, 7+ rebounds, 4+ assists and 4+ blocks and first since Kevin Garnett on April 17, 1996. That’s some good company.

Minnesota needs playmakers on the floor. By his ability to fill up a box score on any given night, McDaniels is proving he can be a game-changer and a piece the Wolves can build around moving forward.

WOLF TRACKS

— Malik Beasley struggled over his first two games back from suspension, combining for 22 points on 5-of-29 shooting (6 of 22 from deep) against Houston on Saturday and Brooklyn on Monday. However, Beasley found his stroke again Wednesday, logging 20 points and nailing 5 of 8 attempts from deep.

— Edwards has scored 23+ points over his last three games. On Monday, however, Edwards went 0 for 7 from 3-point range, just his third game without a 3-point make since becoming a starter Jan. 29 and his first since Feb. 19.

— Karl-Anthony Towns grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds Wednesday against the New York Knicks. During his latest All-Star campaign in 2018-19, Towns gathered 17+ boards in 17 games that season.