22-year old Michael Beasley really stepped up in his first year with the T-Wolves. He played in 73 games (all starts) for the Timberwolves last year and he averaged 32.3 minutes, 19.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Beasley has now played in 232 games (170 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 28.9 minutes, 15.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He will likely remain the starter this year, but 20-year old Derrick Williams is going to be breathing down his neck. Williams was the #2 overall pick in the NBA Draft last June. He will likely get around 30 minutes per night playing both small and power forward for the T-Wolves in 2011-12. 25-year old Lazar Hayward is now #3 in line for minutes at small forward. Hayward played in 42 games (0 starts) for the Timberwolves last year as a rookie and he averaged 10.0 minutes, 3.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Hayward only shot 35.7% from the floor as a rookie last year. He won’t get much P.T. for the T-Wolves in 2011-12 unless they suffer some injuries.

The oldest shooting guard currently on the Timberwolves’ roster is 24 years old (they have three of them). 24-year old Wesley Johnson looked out of place at shooting guard after playing his whole college career at small forward. Johnson played in 79 games (63 starts) as a rookie for the T-Wolves last year and he averaged 26.2 minutes, 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. The T-Wolves hope that Johnson’s shooting improves in his sophomore season. He only shot 39.7% from the floor, 35.6% from three point range and 69.6% from the free throw line last year. 24-year old Martell Webster is going to battle Johnson for the starting job at shooting guard this year. Webster played in 46 games (1 start) for the Timberwolves last year and he averaged 23.8 minutes, 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He has now played in 347 games (165 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 23.2 minutes, 8.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. 24-year old Wayne Ellington will be coming off the bench for the T-Wolves in 2011-12. He played in 62 games (8 starts) for the Timberwolves last year and he averaged 19.0 minutes, 6.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. 21-year old Malcolm Lee was a second round pick out of UCLA and he will likey start his career either at the end of the bench with the T-Wolves or in the D-League.