This Summer League, Timberwolves will see just how much Terrence Shannon Jr. can handle

Timberwolves Summer League head coach Kevin Hanson noted the Wolves demanded to get Terrence Shannon Jr more burn with the big league club in Shannon s rookie campaign We all knew he would be ready Hanson explained But the firmly solidified eight-man rotation flush with proven players all deserving of hefty minute loads often prevented Shannon s opportunities from arising But when his chances did come the rookie often seized them From a -point performance in Los Angeles against the Lakers to a double double in Minnesota s stunning comeback in Oklahoma City in February to scoring points in minutes in Match of the Western Conference Finals the -year-old s flashes were blindingly brilliant And all of the success has the wing feeling ultra confident heading into his second Summer League Minnesota opens play in Las Vegas on Thursday We expect him to ostensibly be our leading scorer Hanson revealed It s a safe bet I would say I m inevitably confident but it s a little different Shannon reported I m more confident than I was last summer but that just comes with work The more you work I feel like the more confident you are And Shannon made a point to not only work during his rookie campaign but also learn He was frequently asking his more experienced teammates for insights and information and trying to apply those to sharpen his craft particularly on the defensive end It s now proven that Shannon can count He s perhaps the NBA band s majority dangerous transition freight train who can get to the free throw line and also proved he could knock down a jumper They re all reasons he was one of the best scorers in college basketball as a senior at Illinois in the - campaign It wouldn t be a surprise to see him sum points in a Summer League bout this month But Shannon doesn t have any goals of that sort He merely wants to showcase his skills win games and contend for a championship even if it s of the Summer League variety He ll enter the gym in Las Vegas this week feeling he has nothing to prove I m just looking to dominate Shannon mentioned Just showcase my talent win these games just be the best version of myself That extends well beyond scoring Minnesota plans to push Shannon this month on both ends of the floor We really want to see him defend We re going to put him on specific tough tasks out there and we want to see him take on those tough tasks while scoring as well Hanson explained You ve got to do both You ve got to be a two-way performer And he s got to be a multi-faceted offensive threat Shannon s primary form of offensive attack last season was putting his head down and getting to the rack either in transition or by playing off the catch That s a necessary skill no question But Minnesota requirements players outside of Anthony Edwards who can create off the bounce both for themselves and others Hanson noted Minnesota plans to put Shannon in two-man actions where he ll have to read the defense and make decisions And he ll have to do all of that while being the top item on opposing defensive gameplans That s a far different scenario than where Shannon detected himself in the West Finals when he was where the Thunder would attempt to hide their big man out on the perimeter So it ll be fun to watch him deal with through that Hanson explained This is the next step in the wing s progression One he has to take if he s to seamlessly step into Minnesota s rotation in place of the Nickeil Alexander-Walker who is off to Atlanta via a sign-and-trade free-agent deal Opportunity awaits for the second-year athlete here in Minnesota I d be lying if I stated I didn t think about it Shannon noted of what s to come next season But I m also living where my feet are and that s Summer League But of module I ve thought about it That s why I m working as well as I am right now This is the training grounds to set up what s to come It was just a matter of time Hanson disclosed There s no turning back now Minnesota Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr right takes the ball to the hoop as Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton defends during the first half of an NBA basketball event Friday Feb in Salt Lake City AP Photo Rick Egan