The Timberwolves were the darlings of the NBA's annual survey of general managers a year ago.

Karl-Anthony Towns got the most votes as the player GMs would pick if they were starting a franchise from scratch and was voted most likely to have a breakout season. The Wolves got a full 69 percent of votes as the team expected to be most improved.

This year's recently released survey is notable for the far different — and less positive — predictions when it comes to the Wolves.

Towns didn't get a single vote as the player GMs would pick for starting a franchise. The Wolves, who got some votes last year as one of the top four teams in the Western Conference, didn't garner a single vote there this year.

And perhaps most telling of all: In the question about the most surprising offseason move, Jimmy Butler's trade request ranked a distant fourth with just 6 percent of the votes.

Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.