The Minnesota Timberwolves finished the 2015-16 season with the fifth-worst record in the entire NBA. However, the progression of a talented young core led by a pair of potential superstars was enough to spark a considerable amount of optimism amongst the fans and the franchise. The Timberwolves have assembled one of the most talented young cores in the NBA led by the last two Rookie of the Year award winners in Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. Minnesota stayed the course with a relatively quiet offseason but they added a veteran head coach in Tom Thibodeau. The expectation is that the continued development of its young core will lead to another step forward in the Western Conference standings this season.
Offseason Changes
The Timberwolves refused to spend big on free agents in the offseason, choosing instead to stick to their plan of building from within. Minnesota landed another key piece in point guard Kris Dunn with the fifth-overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and then took a chance on a couple of projects in Toure Murry and John Lucas. The Timberwolves also found some veteran experience and depth at a reasonable price when they signed Jordan Hill, Brandon Rush and Cole Aldrich to smaller deals with the hope that they fit in nicely as compliments to their core.
The biggest move they made might end up being the hiring of Thibodeau. He was expelled from Chicago two years ago but we can see just how far the Bulls have fallen since. They clearly miss him. He is a savvy, experienced coach who will give this team an identity. He should also instill a toughness in the Timberwovles and teach them to play much better defense than they have in previous seasons. Those two factors – combined with their level of talent – could elevate them to playoff position.
Strengths
An argument can be made that Minnesota owns the best young core in the NBA with Towns, Wiggins, Dunn, Zach LaVine, Ricky Rubio and Shabazz Muhammad. Towns made an immediate impact in his rookie season and he clearly has the potential to be one of the most dominant big men in the NBA in the very near future. Meanwhile, Wiggins improved his overall game with an emphasis on developing his shot to compliment his athleticism on the wing. LaVine, Wiggins and Towns have the potential to be a nightmare matchup for opposing teams with their athleticism and Minnesota has a pair of capable guards to maximize their potential in Rubio and Dunn. Thibodeau is one of the most respected coaches in the NBA and he should get the most out of the talent at his disposal while continuing to develop their abilities.
Weaknesses
The entire core of this roster is still extremely young and while they have considerable potential, they are also very inexperienced. That should result in growing pains over the next couple of years in which the Minnesota Timberwolves show flashes but still deal with the types of inconsistency that costs them a major leap in the standings. Thibodeau will focus on defensive improvement and cutting down on turnovers but there is bound to be growing pains along the way.
The other main issue is the lack of three-point shooting ability. That will hurt Minnesota on offense as teams attempt to key in on their athleticism without having to respect the threat of the outside shot. The three-point shot has become very important in the NBA these days and the T-Wolves lack in this department.
Outlook
The Minnesota Timberwolves are loaded with potential but there is reason for caution based on the lack of experience on this roster. Minnesota is definitely headed in the right direction and the arrival of Thibodeau as head coach should help speed up the process, but there are bound to be growing pains along the way. The Minnesota Timberwolves will demonstrate a bigger improvement on the floor than they do in the standings this season and even with a marginal improvement in terms of win total, they still have a long way to go after recording just 29 wins last season.
Prediction: 4th in Northwest Division; 11th in Western Conference
