2020-2021 Minnesota Timberwolves In-Season Thread

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Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Speaking of Wiggins....

Jon K at The Athletic with some more on Wiggins/Russell.

Wiggins Thriving In Post-Wolves Role

Sell the team, please. Poor ownerships and poor cultures just never seem to climb that mountain
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I know it's wishful thinking but it would be nice if the Wilfs would step up. It appears that they are the closest thing to local ownership we are going to find and I'm very confident they would keep the team here. (KG doesn't have the money to have a controlling interest in an ownership group, so he wouldn't control whether the team moves.)

The team obviously needs to be sold and I would have no problem if the new regime moved the Rosas crew out the door. All I care about at this point is keeping the team in MN so that it can start over here.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
At least they keep drafting guards that can’t shoot.

Dunn
Okogie
Culver
Edwards

the beauty is there are more better players in this draft than the 2020 draft and of course they won’t have their pick. I swear the target center is built on an Indian burial mound or something.
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The team has been cursed since McHale and Taylor completely F'd up the Joe Smith contract situation.
 

Souhan: Most thrive after leaving Wolves; Ricky Rubio came back even worse

There is also an example on the current Wolves roster of a player whose departure should not have been lamented: Ricky Rubio.

The Wolves shouldn't have drafted him, and they should not have brought him back.

I was in favor of the trade that added him to the current roster. Rubio, 30, should have provided veteran leadership and floor direction to a young team, and given the Wolves either a guard who could play alongside D'Angelo Russell or at least be a quality backup point guard.

That was the theory. In reality, Rubio has been terrible. He's in his 10th NBA season and still hasn't fixed his shot. On Monday night, the Warriors dared him to score in the first quarter, and his poor shooting allowed the Warriors to build a lead with which they would coast the rest of the night.

Rubio is making 20% of his three-point shots and has a career-worst effective field goal percentage of 37.7. He ranks 241 of 335 players in John Hollinger's PER (Player Efficiency Ratings).

There is no longer any mystery as to why two rising teams, Utah and Phoenix, were happy to dump Rubio. Having a pass-only point guard in the modern NBA doesn't work.

I know, I know — Wolves fans like his hair and flair, but Rubio is not the player he was supposed to be for this year's Wolves team, the player he needs to be. Unlike so many other former Wolves, his eventual departure should not prompt tears.

www.startribune.com

Most thrive after leaving Wolves; Ricky Rubio came back even worse

Wolves fans should not have mourned Ricky Rubio's first departure nor his second when it comes. He's a bad fit.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Howl Wolves!!
 

Rubio did well in Utah and with the Suns. He's been awful here. The Wolves desperately needed shooters and a big man who can rebound and put the ball back in. They didn't get either.

Maybe there is a hidden lining here. Back on 1/20 Souhan told us that Ryan Saunders has earned the right to stay.

Hope he's as right about Rubio never playing better as he was about the need to keep Saunders.
 

Iceland12 said:
Rubio did well in Utah and with the Suns. He's been awful here. The Wolves desperately needed shooters and a big man who can rebound and put the ball back in. They didn't get either.

Maybe there is a hidden lining here. Back on 1/20 Souhan told us that Ryan Saunders has earned the right to stay.

Hope he's as right about Rubio never playing better as he was about the need to keep Saunders.
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Jordan McLaughlin is easily the best point guard on the team right now. It's not even close anymore. Think about that for a second. Our very distant 3rd PG is better by a mile than the 30 million dollar baby and the 17 million dollar vet. Sad times continue.
 


jamiche said:
I know it's wishful thinking but it would be nice if the Wilfs would step up. It appears that they are the closest thing to local ownership we are going to find and I'm very confident they would keep the team here. (KG doesn't have the money to have a controlling interest in an ownership group, so he wouldn't control whether the team moves.)

The team obviously needs to be sold and I would have no problem if the new regime moved the Rosas crew out the door. All I care about at this point is keeping the team in MN so that it can start over here.
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I think the Wilfs are too smart to waste any time on this franchise. It is whatever level comes after dumpster fire. The cleanup that it would take is too much for any owner to want. They probably would need a new GM, new coach, and a whole team of new players. I think the Wilfs have enough going on with the Vikings.

Now, if they were part owners and kind of shrugged off any real give a shit...maybe.
 

tikited said:
Jordan McLaughlin is easily the best point guard on the team right now. It's not even close anymore. Think about that for a second. Our very distant 3rd PG is better by a mile than the 30 million dollar baby and the 17 million dollar vet. Sad times continue.
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Don't want to think about that. ;) He looks good on Offense and godawful on D, and yeah, he's playing far better than the others are. None of the players in uniform now would be in an 8 man rotation for a .500 team in the NBA!

Will they get better when/if KAT and Russell come back? Sure, but Rosas decision to strip it all down has decimated that bench. Means that KAT will have to play extended minutes. Probably lead to injury. Again.
 
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Iceland12 said:
Will they get better when/if KAT and Russell come back? Sure, but Rosas decision to strip it all down has decimated that bench. Means that KAT will have to play extended minutes. Probably lead to injury. Again.
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I will go back to them when Towns returns, but I am bored by them enough right now that I haven't watched more than 10 minutes of the last 3-4 games. First time in my Wolves fandom that that has happened.
 

tmvander said:
I think the Wilfs are too smart to waste any time on this franchise. It is whatever level comes after dumpster fire. The cleanup that it would take is too much for any owner to want. They probably would need a new GM, new coach, and a whole team of new players. I think the Wilfs have enough going on with the Vikings.

Now, if they were part owners and kind of shrugged off any real give a shit...maybe.
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Taylor bought the team and kept the team here out of hometown loyalty. He's also making a beyond amazing ROI. The Wilfs would buy the team if they thought there was some kind of synergy w/ the Vikings and there was economic upside which could potentially come from three sources: 1) sports gambling; 2) Improved attendance due to a better product; and 3) A new arena. (The renovations were lipstick on a pig.)

I'm not predicting it--just wishful thinking.
 





Karl-Anthony Towns, the man the Wolves’ roster and entire offensive and defensive philosophy was built around, has played just four games thanks to a wrist injury and the contraction of COVID-19, a virus with which the center is still dealing.

Here is a list of the Wolves’ other players who have missed multiple games this season: D’Angelo Russell, Juancho Hernangomez, Josh Okogie, Jarrett Culver and Ricky Rubio. Culver has missed the last two games and will miss more as his sprained ankle is expected to cause him to sit at least another week.

When Towns or Hernangomez will return from health and safety protocols is anyone’s guess — the virus is unpredictable.

Sure, the Wolves have gotten good looks at young players such as Anthony Edwards, Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels. All three first- and second-year players have provided reasons for optimism, but they aren’t existing in the roles they’ll likely occupy when the Wolves are at full strength — almost no one is. Okogie and Rubio are struggling mightily at the moment, and Russell isn’t giving Minnesota quite enough. But that, too, could all change when Towns returns.

It’s hard to judge anything when Minnesota is shuffling lineups on a nightly basis as a direct result of who’s available that evening. That the Timberwolves have employed 10 different starting lineups in 18 games is stunning. Every night there are new lineup combinations — largely made up of players in their early 20s or, in Edwards’ case, 19 years old — trotting out onto the floor, trying to find a rhythm and connection in a matter of minutes.

That it has gone this poorly should surprise no one. You can blame head coach Ryan Saunders if you’d like. Has he pulled all the right strings and maximized the hand he has been dealt? Certainly not. But say he had, maybe the Wolves would have an extra win or two. It’s hard to see much more than that.

Gersson Rosas allowed the Wolves to enter the season without a traditional power forward or much experienced NBA depth. At the same time, it’s rare for a team’s depth to be exercised to this extent.

Has every team had to adapt to fluid roster situations this season? Absolutely. Have most teams had to deal with what the Wolves have endured? Not even close..

www.twincities.com

Jace Frederick: We know almost nothing about Wolves a quarter of the way through season, and that’s a problem

We know the Timberwolves are a long shot to make the playoffs. But that’s about it.
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com
 

A short-handed Minnesota topped Cleveland 109-104 at Target Center to earn its fifth win of the season, largely thanks to strong performance by the Timberwolves’ top three scoring options..

Edwards and Beasley each scored 23, while Russell scored 19.

But it wasn’t just offensively where Minnesota closed the game late. After getting destroyed on the interior in the first half by Cavaliers’ big man Andre Drummond, Minnesota held Drummond to just two made field goals in the second half.

Cleveland went 10 minutes without a bucket in the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers (9-11) committed 19 turnovers for the game that resulted in 29 points for Minnesota (5-14), while the Wolves turned the ball over just 10 times. That made up the difference on the glass, where Cleveland outrebounded the Wolves 55-34.

www.twincities.com

Timberwolves get a badly needed victory over Cleveland

D’Angelo Russell has seen it too many times already this season. On the rare nights when Minnesota has had chances to win games, the Timberwolves often veer from the game plan and fall apart …
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com
 



Ouch. The Athletic puts out it's first quarter report card on the NBA. Spoiler alert, Wolves dead last.

30. Minnesota Timberwolves (↓Previously 28th), 5-14, -9.0 net rating
Weekly slate: Loss at Warriors, Loss at Warriors, Loss to Sixers, Win over Cavs

First-quarter grade: F

The Minnesota Timberwolves have missed Karl-Anthony Towns for most of the season, so expecting them to be highly competitive when that happens isn’t totally logical. However, we need to see a little more fight than what they’ve given us. Anthony Edwards has been fun at times but not consistent enough. Not many players seem to be thriving to the point that now the Jaden McDaniels minutes off the bench seem to be the lone bright spot for a lot of Wolves fans. They need Towns back, and they need to show more fight.

Needs a makeup assignment: D’Angelo Russell just has to flat-out be better. I’m not expecting him to be Steph Curry or Damian Lillard, but the Wolves need far more out of him. They gave up next year’s pick (top-three protected in a loaded draft class) to get Russell. He simply hasn’t been worth it in his small amount of time with the team. He can turn that around, but he needs to show it.

Why are they ranked here? They’re currently the worst team in basketball.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Ouch. The Athletic puts out it's first quarter report card on the NBA. Spoiler alert, Wolves dead last.

30. Minnesota Timberwolves (↓Previously 28th), 5-14, -9.0 net rating
Weekly slate: Loss at Warriors, Loss at Warriors, Loss to Sixers, Win over Cavs

First-quarter grade: F

The Minnesota Timberwolves have missed Karl-Anthony Towns for most of the season, so expecting them to be highly competitive when that happens isn’t totally logical. However, we need to see a little more fight than what they’ve given us. Anthony Edwards has been fun at times but not consistent enough. Not many players seem to be thriving to the point that now the Jaden McDaniels minutes off the bench seem to be the lone bright spot for a lot of Wolves fans. They need Towns back, and they need to show more fight.

Needs a makeup assignment: D’Angelo Russell just has to flat-out be better. I’m not expecting him to be Steph Curry or Damian Lillard, but the Wolves need far more out of him. They gave up next year’s pick (top-three protected in a loaded draft class) to get Russell. He simply hasn’t been worth it in his small amount of time with the team. He can turn that around, but he needs to show it.

Why are they ranked here? They’re currently the worst team in basketball.
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That actually was too kind imo.

They almost blew another game last night. Up 10 with little time left. It got down to 3 before free throws iced it.
 

tikited said:
That actually was too kind imo.

They almost blew another game last night. Up 10 with little time left. It got down to 3 before free throws iced it.
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Don't they have to get a top 3 pick to keep it from Golden State? Best to tank.
 

They certainly are the worst. At least without KAT. Without KAT and Russell? They are at the level of a very bad expansion team IMHO at least.

Speaking of The Athletic, Jon K's had a long article today. Here's a section where he talks about the importance of having and not having KAT & Russell around, and playing together on the court:

Fans are understandably and justifiably miserable with the losing this season. Not just the sheer number of losses, but the way many of them have come. Rosas and Saunders have acknowledged how important it is for the team to start showing a pulse, even with their best player still out because of COVID.

The one-year anniversary of the Warriors-Wolves trade that brought Russell to Minnesota is nearly upon us. It was Rosas’ vision that uniting Towns and Russell would bring out the best in both of their games and, eventually, vault the Wolves into the playoff picture. There were plenty of doubts about the ability of two players who have not enjoyed a lot of team success in their five years in the league to lift up this woebegone franchise. But the painful truth is that we haven’t had the chance to see what they can do.

Towns and Russell have played five games together in a calendar year. Five. So it is impossible to say what this team, and the Rosas plan, truly looks like until they can get onto the court for an extended period of time.

Whenever a team loses a star, or stars, it puts a tremendous stress on the rest of the roster. When LeBron James missed 27 games due to injury in 2018-19, the Lakers finished 10th in the West. When Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson missed the bulk of 2019-20, the mighty Warriors plummeted to the bottom of the league. The Heat had just two more wins than the Wolves while missing Jimmy Butler because of COVID.

Towns does not yet belong in the LeBron-Steph conversation. But he is the center of the Timberwolves universe..
 

howeda7 said:
Don't they have to get a top 3 pick to keep it from Golden State? Best to tank.
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No matter what happens...they have something like a 60% chance they fall out of the top three picks. With our luck they finish with the worst record and get the 4th pick.
 

tikited said:
No matter what happens...they have something like a 60% chance they fall out of the top three picks. With our luck they finish with the worst record and get the 4th pick.
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This is the Wolves. It's not 60%, its more like 95%. Is 4 as low as the worst record can fall?
 

howeda7 said:
This is the Wolves. It's not 60%, its more like 95%. Is 4 as low as the worst record can fall?
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What I read was that even if we finish in the bottom 3, there is a 60% another team jumps us. Then I think I read that 4 is the lowest the worst team could fall. If true...how could Rosas let it only be 1-3 protected?
 

tikited said:
What I read was that even if we finish in the bottom 3, there is a 60% another team jumps us. Then I think I read that 4 is the lowest the worst team could fall. If true...how could Rosas let it only be 1-3 protected?
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Yup. Their chances aren't helped THAT much by being worst, second worst, etc. They need some luck either way, in what sounds like a pretty solid draft class? Perfect timing for that of course
 

1st sounds like Towns went with on this 5 game 8 day road trip. 2nd? ESPN also had their Power Rankings. They rated the Wolves way higher than The Athletic did. ;)

29. Minnesota Timberwolves
2020-21 record: 5-14
Previous ranking: 28

Anthony Edwards has struggled with his efficiency this season -- not unusual for rookies -- but there are signs he is turning a corner. He scored 25 points against the Warriors (featuring a 5-for-8 performance from 3) and 23 against the Cavs on Sunday (on 9-for-15 shooting). He has scored in double figures over five straight games and leads all rookies in scoring. It has been a tough season for the Wolves in a number of ways, but if Edwards can show positive developmental signs, the game plan for Minnesota might work out in the end. -- Young
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Ouch. The Athletic puts out it's first quarter report card on the NBA. Spoiler alert, Wolves dead last.

30. Minnesota Timberwolves (↓Previously 28th), 5-14, -9.0 net rating
Weekly slate: Loss at Warriors, Loss at Warriors, Loss to Sixers, Win over Cavs

First-quarter grade: F

The Minnesota Timberwolves have missed Karl-Anthony Towns for most of the season, so expecting them to be highly competitive when that happens isn’t totally logical. However, we need to see a little more fight than what they’ve given us. Anthony Edwards has been fun at times but not consistent enough. Not many players seem to be thriving to the point that now the Jaden McDaniels minutes off the bench seem to be the lone bright spot for a lot of Wolves fans. They need Towns back, and they need to show more fight.

Needs a makeup assignment: D’Angelo Russell just has to flat-out be better. I’m not expecting him to be Steph Curry or Damian Lillard, but the Wolves need far more out of him. They gave up next year’s pick (top-three protected in a loaded draft class) to get Russell. He simply hasn’t been worth it in his small amount of time with the team. He can turn that around, but he needs to show it.

Why are they ranked here? They’re currently the worst team in basketball.
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F is better grade than I expected.

Howl Wolves!!
 

Shama chimes in:

Speculation persists the Minnesota Timberwolves might be trade partners in a deal involving their most valued player, 25-year-old former all-NBA center Karl-Anthony Towns (KAT).

Even last off-season there were rumors the Wolves could part with Towns. Asked about the truth of those rumors, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said, “No, absolutely not. I don’t know where they (the rumors) would come from.”

Towns averaged 18.3 points per game and was NBA Rookie of the Year for the 2015-2016 season. He has averaged over 20 points per game each season since and in 2018 signed a five-year contract with Minnesota. “We’re building the team around him,” Taylor told Sports Headliners this morning.

Part of why Towns is targeted for trade speculation is the Wolves haven’t found much success on the floor, making the playoffs just once since he joined the team. Does Taylor know of Towns having a desire to play elsewhere?

“If anything he has indicated the opposite,” Taylor said. “He likes the coach (Ryan Saunders). He likes playing here and he’s just sorry he’s not out there playing.”


Howl Wolves!!
 

Shama continues:

But despite the slow start, Taylor is still anticipating his team in the playoffs later this year. “I recognize that it’s going to be difficult, but on the other hand, there’s other teams that aren’t performing up to their expectations, too, and I guess we just gotta catch them.”

Taylor thinks the Wolves can have better results even without Towns in the lineup. “I don’t know why there’s this much difference (without Towns). There were some games we played pretty well. Almost all the games we lose, we go through a streak, maybe a quarter of the game, where we just have difficulty putting up shots, and I don’t know that you can tie that just on one person. There’s gotta be somebody else out there that can take the leadership role and…score during those difficult periods.”

Towns had a friendship with high scoring point guard D’Angelo Russell even before the Wolves acquired him last winter. The two haven’t played much together yet, nor have they seen many minutes with 2020 NBA first round overall draft choice Anthony Edwards, another gifted scorer. “Potentially we have some firepower there,” Taylor said. “We just gotta get them on the floor.”


Howl Wolves!!
 


Robson: 82 games in, here’s the verdict on Gersson Rosas’ Wolves tenure so far

How do you judge a team’s viability when the alpha star has been chronically unavailable? KAT played in 323 of his team’s first 328 NBA games. But since Rosas arrived, he has suited up for just 39 of 84 contests, including four out of 20 this season.

It is thus no coincidence that the Wolves have been wretched this season. After Monday’s loss to the Cavaliers, they rank 23rd in defensive rating — points allowed per possession. They were 30th, dead last, in offensive rating, which is points scored per possession. That adds up to the worst net rating and a tie for the worst won-lost record in the league.

The ugly fact is that since Rosas took over, promising to fashion a “sustainable model for a winning team,” the Wolves have the worst winning percentage in the entire NBA. Under the circumstances, it is almost impossible to sort out the incompetent decision-making from the moody malware of random misfortune. But at this 82-game juncture, 21 months into his tenure, it seems like the right time to take a stab at it.

theathletic.com

Robson: 82 games in, here’s the verdict on Gersson Rosas’ Wolves tenure so far

With a full-season sample size, we look at the good, the bad and the still-to-be-determined from the POBO's time in charge.
theathletic.com theathletic.com

Howl Wolves!!
 

Another embarrassing T-Wolves loss. 16 point lead with 10 minutes remaining. Saunders continues to throw out questionable lineups and won't call a timeout when the bleeding is obvious, Wolves stop moving the ball on offense and try and force fouls, and Russell decides to play hero ball.

Saunders appears to be out of his league and Russell is looking like mistake.
 

I have a new nickname for D-Lo (I don't remember hearing it before). Slow-Lo. Dude is the slowest moving PG around.
 

I envy you guys who continue to watch this team. You are brave, patient souls who deserve happiness and prosperity.
 

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