This list is counting down pretty fast, and the countdown to preseason ball is coming to an end. Hardwood hoops will commence in five days with the Rockets tipping off against the Clippers in Honolulu, Hawaii. The countdown to NBA basketball is nearing its quarter-point, and the anticipation towards another season is brewing in the pots of all 30 clubs across the league.
So, it’s only right that the SneakerReporterTop 30 NBA Teams list continues with team No. 22, since there are officially 22 days until the season opener between New Orleans and Toronto on October 22nd. Today’s team on the list: the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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22. Minnesota Timberwolves (39-43) – Another Year; Another Unsuccessful Postseason Push
Another outside-looking-in team that missed the postseason in 2018 by just 12 games, the T’Wolves are under new leadership and it doesn’t look like there is a favorable situation to look forward to in Minnesota. A lot of adversity is hitting these Wolves with free agents and a rather underwhelming draft, and since there is new leadership in place, there aren’t many members of this roster that are tied to anyone on the roster, meaning that nearly all of the contracts and commitments made in the past came from the previous regime, which means everyone starts with a clean slate.
That being said, the clock is ticking, and ticking fast, on the Timberwolves’ decision on their lone All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, who is entering the first season of his 5-year, $190 million extension signed in 2018. Modern NBA history isn’t like the past in roster cornerpieces being willing to grind out the growth and maturation of an NBA roster, as current All-Stars aren’t proven to commit long-term if they don’t have a chance to win right away.
The pressure of a thousand tons lie squarely on the new front office to turn the ship to either garnish the roster with additional talent to accompany the 23-year-old big man or ship him elsewhere in the efforts to gain some replacements from the draft or in the offseason.
Seeing the current situation that the Timberwolves are in is not the prettiest, but it’s not the worst in the world. Still, they maintained and will return the same roster for this upcoming season, with staples like Robert Covington and Josh Okogie ascertaining their roles in the starting five. Also, there is some value in their depth of ex-Knick Noah Vonleh, former All-Star guard Jeff Teague, and former Ohio State Buckeye Keita Bates-Diop.
What is the main issue in the further development and progression of this Timberwolves team: the regression and unfortunate disappointment that has been Andrew Wiggins’ tenure as a Timberwolf. Once dubbed the “Canadia LeBron” and the steal of the 2014 NBA Draft, Wiggins has yet to live up to that magnanimous potential, and just has not met the mark of being the key accessory and compliment to Towns’ offensive output. The Canadian has struggled mightily in the past two years, once being a 23 ppg scorer but dissolving into an 18.1 ppg scorer that shoots under 41 percent from the field.
His contract has perturbed the Wolves even more than his abysmal play with his 5-year, $147 Million extension signed back in the October of 2017, which obviously sets itself as an abrasion to the cap possibilities of acquiring extra assistance for their first-rounder in Karl Anthony Towns.
If the former No. 1 overall pick were to improve his three-point shooting, shot selection, and defense, the Wolves would have been a very different team in the past two seasons. Instead, the Wolves can either trust in head coach Ryan Saunders to keep the struggling Wiggins on the floor to regain that confidence or deal him at, or before, the February trade deadline.
The Timberwolves do have some hope – and are justified in their optimism – in the skyrocketing potential of their first-round selection taken with the 11th overall pick Jarrett Culver.
The Big 12 player of the year at Texas Tech played a significant role in getting his Red Raiders to the national championship game, and keenly displayed how he’d fit like a puzzle piece into the formulated picture of an ideal stretch four.
The draft piece acquired as a result of the Dario Šarić deal is the first marked action by the President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas. Expectations are sky-high for Culver to make his mark on a roster deprived of a second offensive option, though Culver showed difficulty in scoring the basketball, especially in the national tournament and most notably, in his 5-of-22 outing in the national championship. Minnesota did not intend to have a high lottery pick for a long time after selecting Wiggins and Towns No. 1 overall in back-to-back drafts. Culver restores that belief moving forward.
The 6-foot-7 wing was known for his defense at Texas Tech, eventually developing a scorer’s mentality when it mattered most. When push came to heave, the young Culver was unafraid to put up shots in critical moments, which impressed scouts across the league due to his unflappable nature.
The offensive part of his game will come, but the Timberwolves want his defense right now and will be content to let the rest of his game progress in time.
What is also of imminence to mention, is the increasing confidence Josh Okogie has in his game going into his second season. Selected No. 20 in the 2018 draft, Okogie was a regular highlight maker for the Wolves and looks to carry that playmaking tenacity into his second season. Okogie burst onto the scene last season using his hustle and pesky defensive skill to set others up, or himself in the open court.
And on a team tethered by injuries, Okogie was asked to start in 52 games last season and answered the call, shooting a surprising 38.6 percent from deep while averaging 7 points per contest. In a loaded backcourt last year with the likes of Derrick Rose and Jeff Teague both going down, Okogie did not disappoint and became a premier point of emphasis for former coach Tom Thibodeau to involve in the offense.
Some other key additions to this Wolves roster include Golden State’s Jordan Bell, Portland’s Jake Layman, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Tyrone Wallace, an undrafted free agent out of LSU in Naz Reid and veteran guard Shabazz Napier. Layman and Bell provide extra wing and perimeter defense, Tyrone Wallace is a nice plug and play pick and roll guard that is quite effective at creating space off the dribble, and, if given the minutes, Naz Reid can develop into a solid rotational rebounder and finisher at the rim that can be etched into some second-team lineups.
So, in looking at the Wolves’ ability to score the ball, it doesn’t look promising. Other than the talented KAT, who averaged 22 points per game off 53 percent shooting, their second-best offensive player is Andrew Wiggins, which obviously isn’t helping the Wolves’ solving their biggest problem.
Minnesota will claim playoff aspirations this season as they’ve done for the past four years, but that is, as they know, way easier said than done in such a contentious Western conference. Then again, the Wolves can contend for a playoff spot this year and if Wiggins’ numbers take a step in the right direction, then, well, no more work will have to be done in getting Towns his additional help.
If things don’t turn out the way they want, the Timberwolves’ situation will get even uglier than it is now. Towns is signed through 2023-24, but in the current era of the player’s voice being louder than management itself, those contract lengths are delays of the inevitable days leading up Towns voicing his displeasure. If something like an Anthony Davis saga occurs for the T’Wolves, imagine what the other 29 franchises across the league will do to gauge trade possibilities.
Minnesota needs to, at the very least, be contentious enough to get a record that exceeds .500 ball, which, yes, sounds pretty fartfetched, but if possible, it will give Towns more than enough reason to believe the growing Wolves are something worth sticking around for. That will mean that Towns will be relied on more than he ever has in his career, so that Rosas’ front office can find the right plan to keep Towns on this someday potentially-competitive roster.
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