Written by Joshua Cornelissen at The Lottery Mafia
The Minnesota Timberwolves are defying our expectations as their young stars grow up before our eyes.
Low Expectations
Last year, the Minnesota Timberwolves kicked off a multi-year rebuilding project when they shipped out disgruntled star Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In return, they received the last two #1 overall picks in Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins, as well as Thaddeus Young (who was later flipped to Brooklyn for former Minnesota hero Kevin Garnett) and a first rounder from Cleveland. Injuries to most of their veterans caused them to spiral from competitive to worst in the league, and their top lottery odds netted them the #1 overall pick and Karl-Anthony Towns, the draft’s top big man. The Cleveland pick turned into Duke point guard Tyus Jones, and he joined veterans Andre Miller and Tayshaun Prince in adding to the Minnesota roster this offseason, while Bennett and others were let go. Euroleague standout Nemanja Bjelica came over from Europe to join a loaded frontcourt rotation, and Minnesota set out on year two of their rebuilding process.
Preseason picks by the Internet’s “experts” were collectively down on the T-Wolves. Various websites had the team winning anywhere from 22 to 24 wins by human voters to the lofty heights of 29 wins by computer models. Many NBA previews spoke of the Timberwolves adding one more piece after this season before beginning their rise this year. It appears no one told the actual team they were supposed to wait one more year.
To continue reading this article, click here
