New Look,New Team: Minnesota Timberwolves 2017-18 Preview

By Paul Scofield

The Minnesota Timberwolves, a team no one has “worried” about since the 2003-2004 season, when they last made the playoffs, which they lost as the one seed to the 2^nd seeded LA Lakers in the Conference Finals.  They have basically been non-existent in the playoff picture since then, making a run for the 8^th seed a couple times, but nothing that anyone paid much attention to.  Finishing up 13^th best in the Western Conference last season, sitting at 31-51, is almost exactly where they’ve finished since being beaten by the Lakers in 2004.  However, a team that’s been “rebuilding” for so long, and hasn’t made much noise in free agency or turned a lot of heads with acquisitions has been turning heads since April.

A team that already had several young, promising players added 4 seasoned veterans to the mix this offseason.  They didn’t waste any time either because on draft night, they basically stole three-time NBA All-Star Forward Jimmy Butler from the Chicago Bulls.  They gave up Zach LaVine, which is coming off an ACL injury, Kris Dunn, which had a disappointing rookie season to say the least and swapped pick 7^th pick with the 16^th pick.  Butler has been nothing but successful in his short 6-year career.  What a huge acquisition for a young Timberwolves team, a 27-year-old forward who’s entering the prime of his career right now.  Plus, the team has full control of Butler for two seasons, meaning he can’t just opt out of his contract, which I don’t think he would do anyways.

Just two weeks after the acquisition of Jimmy Butler, the Timberwolves announced the signings of All-Star guard Jeff Teague and forward Taj Gibson.  Both players are 8 year veterans players, both players have 60+ career playoff games and both players have also played in the Conference Finals.  Taj Gibson isn’t going to average a double-double by any means, however he does give you a viable presence down low along with experience in deep runs into the playoffs.

On July 19, the organization announced another veteran acquisition in signing three-time Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford.  Crawford is entering his 17^th season in the NBA, he will bring that poise that some of these younger guys will have to learn and perfect.  Jamal Crawford isn’t someone that’s going to pad the stat book, but like Taj Gibson, he’s more of a teacher than a playmaker here in Minnesota.

Those are just 4 additions this team has made, I didn’t break into the NBA Draft yet, but Tom Thibodeau taking over as Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations back in 2016 was by far the best thing Minnesota could have done.  He’s a great coach and he has a great basketball mind.  I missed him in Chicago this season more so than before, he could have beaten Boston in round 1, no doubt in my mind.  With that being said, let’s break into some more Timberwolves news, starting with the NBA Draft, after acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Chicago Bulls of course.

With the 16th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the TWolves selected Justin Patton, Center out of Creighton University.  His stat line is 12.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.2 apg and 1.4 bpg.  Those are pretty solid numbers, however I don’t think they’ll translate that way into the NBA.  To his benefit, he’ll be playing behind Karl Anthony-Towns and Gorgui Dieng.  Those are two great big men to learn from, seeing as he’s 20 years old so his ceiling is theoretically untapped.  He’s going to be an asset in later years, seeming he’s sitting at 7’ with a 9’3” wingspan.  His size is still an issue, seeming that he’s 7’ tall and only 230 pounds.  There’s an obvious need to beef this guy up a little bit, but he has some time to do.  For roster alignment purposes, Patton could spend time with the G-League (formally known has the NBAD League) Iowa Wolves and as a reserve on the varsity team.

Let’s take a quick look at this 2017-2018 depth chart, as it currently sits via ESPN:

Point Guard

Start: Jeff Teague

2nd: Tyus Jones

Shooting Guard

Start:  Jimmy Butler

2nd:  Jamal Crawford

Small Forward

Start:  Andrew Wiggins

Power Forward

Start:  Taj Gibson

2nd:  Nemanja Bjelica

Center

Start:  Karl Anthony-Towns

2nd:  Gorgui Dieng

3rd:  Cole Aldrich

4th:  Justin Patton

I expect this to change somewhat throughout the offseason, however, I also think this is pretty dang close to what you’re going to see on the court.  You have 4 guys that can run the PG position well, 4 guys that can run the SG position well, 4 guys that can also run the SF/PF position well and as you can see, 4 guys listed on the roster as a C.  This roster has a lot of versatility.  They have a lot of weapons on the offensive end and several solid defenders well.  They have more than one rim protector now as well.  This is a much improved organization, especially in the passed 2 years.  I’m excited, as a basketball fan, for this team to hit the court in the 20117-2018 season!  Do they have what it takes to make it back to the playoffs?  What about the fans still watching this young, talented team play basketball in June?  It’s going to be a long wait for the season to start, but this is a team to keep a major eye on as the offseason progresses.

Prediction for the Minnesota Timberwolves

48 wins-34 losses.