For most of 25 years, the Timberwolves lacked talent, luck and organizational savvy. The team mascot should not have been named Crunch. The team mascot should have been named Ibid.
This year the Timberwolves look like failures once again. They are 12-28. They have lost their past eight games. The have the second-worst record in the Western Conference. The only team with a worse record, the Lakers, has openly dedicated the season not to building or winning, but to honoring Kobe Bryant at any cost.
This appears to be another bad team slouching through another bad season in front of remarkably small crowds at Target Center. But this is not a typical bad Timberwolves team.
This team has talent. This team has benefited from luck. This team's roster is the result of organizational intelligence.
Talent? Andrew Wiggins is one of the league's best and most promising young players. Karl-Anthony Towns is the best of a strong crop of rookies. Ricky Rubio is a valuable player. Zach LaVine is one of the league's most gifted athletes. Shabazz Muhammad is one of the best bench scorers in the league. Nemanja Bjelica is 6-10 and can shoot and pass.
Luck? Landing the top pick in the draft lottery is always a matter of good fortune.
Organizational intelligence? The roster contains excellent young talent, depth and veteran leadership. The trade of Kevin Love for Andrew Wiggins was ideal. And the Wolves didn't need to sacrifice future assets to put this team together.
In most ways, the Timberwolves are better positioned to win now than they ever have been, and yet they are playing as poorly as any team in the NBA over the last month, even as poorly as some franchises that aren't attempting to win.