What Timberwolves followers have learned over the past three weeks:
What Wolves fans have learned over the past three weeks
With a bit of distance from playoff elimination, Timberwolves fans can draw some conclusions about the state of the franchise.
May 31, 2022 at 3:53AM
- Incoming owners Mark Lore and Alex Rodriguez will swing for the fences.
They just watched their team improve from 23 to 46 victories, win a play-in game and test an excellent Memphis team in the playoffs. They easily could have kept acting President of Basketball Operations Sachin Gupta in place.
Instead, they hired Tim Connelly, a highly-thought-of executive from the Denver Nuggets, to oversee Gupta, giving him $40 million and a small equity stake in the team.
Aggressive actions and spending don't guarantee success, but aggressiveness, for a franchise that used to hire anybody who knew how to smile and slap your back, is a welcome change.
That thirst for national relevance also appears to be the reason the Wolves released announcer Dave Benz. Look for them to try to hire someone from ESPN or another national network.
- The Golden State Warriors won the Andrew Wiggins trade.
Facing elimination, the Wolves benched D'Angelo Russell.
In three playoff series, the Warriors have gotten production and defense out of Wiggins, who has helped them go 12-4 this postseason on their way to the NBA Finals.
The Wolves traded Wiggins, a 2021 first-round pick that became Jonathan Kuminga and a second-round pick to Golden State for Russell, Jacob Evans and Omari Spellman.
Kuminga, a 6-7 small forward, is contributing in the playoffs at the age of 19.
I gave the Wolves credit for offloading a perpetually disappointing player in Wiggins, and bringing in a talented guard in Russell who promised to play well alongside Karl-Anthony Towns. Wiggins could not do what the Wolves needed him to do, which was to be a franchise-leading star.
Now that the Wolves would love to trade Russell, and Wiggins will play a key role in the NBA Finals, and Kuminga is displaying promise, there is just no way to overlook the trade's lopsidedness.
- That Lore and Rodriguez were allowed to spend $40 million on a president of basketball operations while Glen Taylor still owns and runs the team is the final confirmation that Taylor is ready to sell and relinquish power in the organization.
- The "three stars'' blueprint for playoff success is no longer valid, nor is the "one dominant player'' model.
The Warriors are loaded with talent, but Klay Thompson is a lesser version of his former self. The other three teams rely on one star — Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic — and a cohesive group of non-stars.
The top four vote-getters in the NBA MVP Award — Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Devin Booker — did not make it to the conference finals. Kevin Durant, LeBron James and James Harden didn't come close.
In today's NBA, coaching, cohesiveness, defense and three-point shooting mean as much as star power.
- We need to stop worrying about Towns' antics.
Yes, Towns' on-court rants against officials become tiresome, and they don't seem to elicit the desired response, which is more beneficial calls for him and his team.
But Doncic is a great player, and he whines and flails his arms almost every trip down the court. Draymond Green is a great player, and he is the second coming of Rasheed Wallace.
Complaining doesn't diminish their games.
- Losing to Memphis in six games in the playoffs should not be a cause of consternation for Minnesota fans, and it shouldn't be grouped with every other Minnesota playoff failure over the last 30 years.
The Wolves overachieved in the regular season compared to expectations. They needed a wild comeback to win their play-in game. They were a seventh seed, and they pushed the team with the second-best record in the NBA to six highly competitive games.
This was not the equivalent of having a 12th man in the huddle or throwing an inexplicable interception to rob your team of a chance to go to the Super Bowl.
What happened should have happened.
The Wolves had an exceptional season. The revived the franchise, and helped revive downtown Minneapolis. Taking the next step will be more difficult, but the NBA landscape proves that it won't be impossible.
Coach Chris Finch said the team reviewed film of every Edwards play in clutch time this season, and he graded out fairly well.
