The Timberwolves were unlucky to miss the playoffs, finishing with a 40-42 record, placing them tenth in an extremely strong Western Conference and third in the North West Division. Kevin Love led the team in points with 26.1 a game, he also led the team in rebounds with 12.5 a game. Ricky Rubio led the team in assists with 8.6 a game. Ricky Rubio was also the only player who played in all 82 games, but there were two other players who played in 81 games.
This offseason has been extremely eventful for the Timberwolves, they traded their cornerstone and one of the best to play for the Timberwolves in a long time, Kevin Love to the Cavaliers. The Wolves in return received the most recent #1 pick, Andrew Wiggins, 2013 #1 pick Anthony Bennett from the Cavs and highly regarded PF Thaddeus Young from the 76ers. The second hugest move of the offseason set the Cavs up for a 'win now' situation, but the Wolves, who I believe won the trade and were the smarter team, went for the 'win now and win even more later' approach. The Wolves also signed solid back up PG Mo Williams. The Wolves also drafted high-flyer Zach LaVine and also Glen Robinson III. The offseason for the Wolves has made a huge shake up of the organisation, but it is the one that they needed, they received three extremely good and high potential players for Kevin Love and they also drafted two young players who may end up playing very well this year and beyond, a definite win for the Wolves this offseason.
This offseason has been extremely eventful for the Timberwolves, they traded their cornerstone and one of the best to play for the Timberwolves in a long time, Kevin Love to the Cavaliers. The Wolves in return received the most recent #1 pick, Andrew Wiggins, 2013 #1 pick Anthony Bennett from the Cavs and highly regarded PF Thaddeus Young from the 76ers. The second hugest move of the offseason set the Cavs up for a 'win now' situation, but the Wolves, who I believe won the trade and were the smarter team, went for the 'win now and win even more later' approach. The Wolves also signed solid back up PG Mo Williams. The Wolves also drafted high-flyer Zach LaVine and also Glen Robinson III. The offseason for the Wolves has made a huge shake up of the organisation, but it is the one that they needed, they received three extremely good and high potential players for Kevin Love and they also drafted two young players who may end up playing very well this year and beyond, a definite win for the Wolves this offseason.
(Picture credit to Hoops Hype... excuse 'Andrew Wiggins' in the photo)
The roster for the Wolves is extremely different from last season, going from an experienced team who were in need of a playoff run, to becoming a slightly weaker team now, but with a huge upside in the future. The core of Rubio, Wiggins, Young, Bennett, Pekovic, Lavine, Muhammad, Dieng and Robinson is a young and promising one. The Wolves already have experienced and established players such as Pekovic, Rubio, Young, Martin, Budinger, etc which gives them the balance that they need between youth and older players. The Wolves have set themselves up to be a contending team in the near future, they have a better potential than what they had last season which makes it a win for them this offseason. With a nice balance of youth and experience, the Wolves have a nice lineup and it is as follows:
Note: JJ Barea and Wolves have agreed on a buyout so he will not be included
PG: Ricky Rubio (Williams)
SG: Kevin Martin (Brewer/LaVine/Muhammad)
SF: Andrew Wiggins (Robinson/Hummel)
PF: Thaddeus Young (Bennett/Budinger)
C: Nikola Pekovic (Dieng/Turiaf)
With the absence of Barea, there is a lack of depth at the PG position, perhaps meaning that sometimes Martin may have to play limited minutes if needed, there is always the possibility of the Wolves making a signing to address this, with many solid PG's being available, such as Marquis Teague. Kevin Martin may be traded this season, which has been rumoured to happen in the media, if this happens, this will give the Wolves the ability to move Wiggins to his preferred position at SG and slot Brewer into the SF position, in my opinion, this needs to happen and in return for Martin could possibly be an expiring contract or one that can play the PG position. Wiggins and Young give the Wolves a more fresh and athletic team, which is what the Wolves need as they have many young athletic players. Thankfully the Wolves have a great passer in Rubio which will make the Wolves exciting to watch this season, with the potential of many alley oops.
The Wolves may be younger than they previously were, but this does not mean that they have become a worser team, they have the potential to become extremely strong in a few years, but this year may be one where they are simply in no man's land. I am predicting that the Wolves will finish with a 38-44 record and secure the 11th seed.
@nbahoopsreview (Twitter)
The roster for the Wolves is extremely different from last season, going from an experienced team who were in need of a playoff run, to becoming a slightly weaker team now, but with a huge upside in the future. The core of Rubio, Wiggins, Young, Bennett, Pekovic, Lavine, Muhammad, Dieng and Robinson is a young and promising one. The Wolves already have experienced and established players such as Pekovic, Rubio, Young, Martin, Budinger, etc which gives them the balance that they need between youth and older players. The Wolves have set themselves up to be a contending team in the near future, they have a better potential than what they had last season which makes it a win for them this offseason. With a nice balance of youth and experience, the Wolves have a nice lineup and it is as follows:
Note: JJ Barea and Wolves have agreed on a buyout so he will not be included
PG: Ricky Rubio (Williams)
SG: Kevin Martin (Brewer/LaVine/Muhammad)
SF: Andrew Wiggins (Robinson/Hummel)
PF: Thaddeus Young (Bennett/Budinger)
C: Nikola Pekovic (Dieng/Turiaf)
With the absence of Barea, there is a lack of depth at the PG position, perhaps meaning that sometimes Martin may have to play limited minutes if needed, there is always the possibility of the Wolves making a signing to address this, with many solid PG's being available, such as Marquis Teague. Kevin Martin may be traded this season, which has been rumoured to happen in the media, if this happens, this will give the Wolves the ability to move Wiggins to his preferred position at SG and slot Brewer into the SF position, in my opinion, this needs to happen and in return for Martin could possibly be an expiring contract or one that can play the PG position. Wiggins and Young give the Wolves a more fresh and athletic team, which is what the Wolves need as they have many young athletic players. Thankfully the Wolves have a great passer in Rubio which will make the Wolves exciting to watch this season, with the potential of many alley oops.
The Wolves may be younger than they previously were, but this does not mean that they have become a worser team, they have the potential to become extremely strong in a few years, but this year may be one where they are simply in no man's land. I am predicting that the Wolves will finish with a 38-44 record and secure the 11th seed.
@nbahoopsreview (Twitter)