On Wednesday, July 6, 2022, the Minnesota Timberwolves flipped the NBA landscape upside-down and inside-out. With one single move, the team that has struggled to remain relevant for most of its existence has impacted the NBA more than it may have known.
After finishing seventh in the Western Conference and ousting the LA Clippers in a thrilling play-in tournament game, the Wolves advanced to the playoffs for just the first time in five years and the tenth time in the three decades that the team has been a part of the NBA.
With a trio of pillars to build around in Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and D’Angelo Russell, the Wolves already looked like a team with a bright future. However, that future was fast-tracked when the team traded for four-time All-NBA and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert.
What Can Bump Timberwolves In The Odds?
While big names have been traded around the NBA before, it was what the Wolves gave up that made some people scratch their heads as five players, four first-round draft picks and a pick swap was sent to Utah for the big man from France. Not only would this move set the bar for any other star-level player (see Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell), but it would bump the Timberwolves from a play-in contender to a playoff contender for the 2022-23 NBA season.
Need further proof? Before the Gobert deal went down, the Timberwolves were 66/1 to win the 2023 NBA Finals. Following the move, Minnesota’s odds improved to 35/1. Sure they are not the best bet, but that move catapulted the team into the top fifteen as opposed to the bottom fifteen teams in the league.
When you take a look at the ultra-competitive Western Conference (assuming that all teams are healthy), the Phoenix Suns, LA Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets are heavy favorites to be among the top five seeds. That leaves the Timberwolves, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, and LA Lakers battling for the final guaranteed playoff seed (the Portland Trailblazers would grab the final play-in berth).
Now, just because they added the “Stifle Tower” to their lineup, doesn’t equate to the Wolves being a lock for a top six playoff berth as the team will have to figure out chemistry among KAT and Gobert in the frontcourt and how to incorporate their new big man into Edwards’s attacking game and pick & roll play with Russell. Add in a number of new faces, including Kyle Anderson, Bryn Forbes, Austin Rivers, Eric Paschall, and 2022 draft pick Wendell Moore and it might take a bit for the team to gel out of the gates.
tell us the time. we'll bring the show. pic.twitter.com/MxY9TXWYtT
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) August 17, 2022
Starting Backcourt
Point Guard – D’Angelo Russell
Shooting Guard – Anthony Edwards
Before joining the Timberwolves in 2020, Russell was an NBA All-Star and appeared to have turned the corner after struggling for his first three seasons. However in the 119 games since arriving in Minnesota via a trade that sent Andrew Wiggins to Golden State, the twenty-five-year-old point guard has yet to find his All-Star form (18.8ppg, 6.6apg, 41% FG, 35% 3PFG). Russell needs to step up his game in his contract year, one that has already seen him as part of off-season trade talks, even though he is best friends with KAT.
While his overall stat line saw a slight bump from his rookie year to his sophomore season, it was Edwards’ shooting percentages and willingness to take over games that elevated him into All-Star level conversation. Despite missing out on the mid-season classic this past year, chances are it is the last time for a long time that Edwards will not see his name listed among the best in the league. If you have any questions about that prediction, just ask the man himself, who confidently responded to an interview question about if he could one day be the face of the league, “Yeah for sure. I need another year. After this year, I think I’ll be in the best player conversation.”
D’Angelo Russell in the first round:
12.0 PPG
33.3% FGIs it time for the Timberwolves to move on? pic.twitter.com/kTdtqrvgQ7
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 30, 2022
Projected Starting Frontcourt
Small Forward – Jaden McDaniels
Power Forward – Karl-Anthony Towns
Center – Rudy Gobert
Despite Edwards’ claim to be in talks for best player in the league conversation, this is still KAT’s team. Entering his eighth season, the three-time All-Star has seen his numbers dip slightly from his career-best numbers set in 2018-19, but that’s an easy swap for having a better team around him. Since he was drafted in 2015, Towns has played the big man role for the Wolves. Still, with the team’s offseason acquisition, he will play most of the year at the power forward spot, where the self-proclaimed (arguably), best shooting big man in the league will likely flourish, not having to bang in the paint, conserving energy and fouls.
Where Towns struggles, Gobert succeeds (and vice-versa). Gobert has taken eleven three-pointers in his nine years in the league (definitely not related to the Splash brothers), however, his career field goal percentage sits at 65%, including the previous two years leading the league in shot efficiency. To be blunt, Gobert knows his range (though he could improve his free throw numbers). However, the French big man is a better rebounder and shot blocker than Towns, which will almost certainly allow for KAT to remain on the floor longer.
After coming off of the bench in his first two seasons, which had periods of impressive play, third-year forward McDaniels will have the opportunity to show why he was a star recruit for the Washington Huskies coming out of high school. Put it this way, the Wolves front office valued McDaniels more than they did a first-round pick, deciding to keep their young forward rather than adding him in on the Gobert deal.
IT’S OFFICIAL.
welcome to the squad, @rudygobert27 🐺 pic.twitter.com/8SgOos2CUr
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) July 6, 2022
Bench
Guards – Jordan McLaughlin, Austin Rivers, Bryn Forbes, Jaylen Nowell
Forwards – Kyle Anderson, Taurean Prince, CJ Elleby
Centers – Naz Reid, Nathan Knight
There are a number of fans and critics out there that feel the Wolves gave up too much of their depth in the Gobert trade, but only Malik Beasley averaged double-digit points and it’s not as if Jarred Vanderbilt, who was a great blue-collar player for Minnesota, isn’t replaceable. Odds are favoring Jordan McLaughlin to be the first point guard off the revamped bench. While his numbers aren’t staggering, McLaughlin will play a similar energizer role to that which Patrick Beverley gave the team.
Bryn Forbes is a career 41% shooter from downtown. While he won’t give you much else offensively, the team doesn’t need anything more with a trio of ball-dominant players. What will be a concern is his ability on the defensive end, a place which Forbes has never been called upon for his talents.
While his nickname may be “Slo-Mo”, Kyle Anderson was a pivotal contributor to the success of the Memphis Grizzlies the past two years providing an all-around value on both sides of the court despite his methodical approach. After signing with the Wolves as a free agent last summer, Taurean Prince is on his fourth team in six years and while he may not be seeing the same statistical success that he did while he was in Atlanta, his value is unquestioned by many in the Wolves organization. Often given the task of guarding the opposition’s best forward, Prince’s 3 and D game provides the team with a tough matchup on both ends of the court.
At just 23 years old, Naz Reid will be entering his fourth season with the Wolves. After what appeared to be a breakout sophomore season, Reid saw his stats drop across the board, despite playing a career-best 77 games. With the addition of Gobert, one has to wonder where that leaves minutes for Reid, especially if the team decides to still give KAT minutes at the center spot.
NEWS: @Timberwolves Sign CJ Elleby and Luka Garza
Elleby will wear #22 and Garza will wear #55 for the Wolves.
Full release:https://t.co/IUGSp1w7aH
— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) August 23, 2022
Coaching
Chris Finch
In his full first year as a head coach, Chris Finch guided the Timberwolves to their first winning record and playoff berth since the 2017-18 season. A top ten finalist for Coach of the Year, Finch wasn’t the most popular hire when he replaced Ryan Saunders midway through the 2020-21 season, but any of those doubts are clearly in the past following last season’s success.
Not one to rant and rave on the sidelines, Finch seems to have earned his young squad’s approval by giving them the freedom to run and gun.
Haven’t seen anyone say this yet so I’ll be the first .. Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves should be the 2022 NBA Head Coach of The Year.
— Ben Stinar (@BenStinar) March 18, 2022
2022-23 Projection
The Wolves appear to have gone all in, as much as they can, to make a splash in the Western Conference playoff 2022-23 playoff race. Not since the Kevin Garnett years has there been this much excitement in Minnesota for NBA basketball.
While it is unlikely that the team will knock off a healthy Denver Nuggets as the Northwest Division leader, the Timberwolves should be a lock to improve on their 46 wins last season, projected to be flirting with their first fifty-win season since 2003-04. It wouldn’t be wise to bet the house on the Timberwolves being a championship contender this season, but a trip to the Western Conference Semi-Finals isn’t out of reality.
elite handles 🥶@Dloading 𝙭 #NBAHandlesWeek pic.twitter.com/yqLPTL1CsZ
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) August 10, 2022
Credits on featured image: Michael Tipton on Flickr
