By Aleksandar Jankovic
Besides the early 2000s era with Hall of Fame forward Kevin Garnett, the Minnesota Timberwolves were always seen as a franchise that posed no real threat to the rest of the NBA. As the years of losing records and missing the playoffs continued, the Timberwolves grew less competitive as time passed, and became further complacent with being a low-funded franchise. However, recent years have shown the Wolves acquiring some star talent through draft picks, as well as making high-yield trade offers with the rest of the league, and have now put themselves in a position to return as being a competitive team in the league.
The first noticeable sign of this positive direction for the franchise was when Minnesota was given the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. The Timberwolves chose center Karl-Anthony Towns, who went on to average an efficient 18 PPG his rookie season. As the years passed, Towns grew to become the backbone of their young roster, leading the team in points and rebounds per game, and showed clear signs that he would only continue to enhance his game as time passed. In his most recent season, he shot a shocking 41% from the 3 point line, and led his team to one of their only two playoff appearances since 2004. Although they exited in the first round, the future was looking rather bright for the young Minnesota franchise, and their outlook would only get brighter with the upcoming offseason.
The summer of 2022 for the Timberwolves began with the signing of Tim Connelly as president of basketball operations, who promised to craft a more competitive strategy for the team. Although their draft picks seemed a bit underwhelming to most, they quickly crafted a very risky trade for Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert. Losing five players and multiple draft picks in this trade, it was looking to be a high-risk trade that most saw simply as the franchise trying to stack their roster with all-stars, and proposing little foreseeable benefit. However, with Rudy Gobert as their new star center, this puts Towns at the power forward position. This could be a career defining move for Towns, since he has shown excellent three point capabilities over recent years, along with his stellar defensive plays along the backcourt. This change in positions and acquiring of superstar talent could mean great things for Minnesota.
With the years of talent accumulating with Towns, and the playoff potential being shown, as well as the recent changes made this offseason, the Minnesota Timberwolves are taking many steps in the right direction to returning as a competitive franchise in the league. After a few years pass and the roster has time to develop chemistry, it wouldn’t be outlandish to assume that the Timberwolves are a conference final’s level team in the NBA.