These final, failing weeks have brought more than echoes of Timberwolves seasons past, when they went more than three years without winning an April game until doing so last week in Detroit.
They have clearly revealed -- particularly to coach Rick Adelman -- just how much more work needs to be done with a youthful roster that already is five years into a rebuilding process since superstar Kevin Garnett was traded.
"It really gives you an idea of the depth you have," Adelman said of a season-ending spiral in which his team has lost 12 of its past 13 games and 20 of its past 25.
Six weeks ago, the Timberwolves were 21-19 and aimed toward the playoffs for the first time since 2004, chugging toward May with Kevin Love's nightly double-doubles, Ricky Rubio's precocious playmaking and Nikola Pekovic's brawn and menacing tattoos leading the way.
Then Rubio tore up his knee and Pekovic limped toward season's end with bone spurs on his right ankle bothering him nearly every step of the way while Love's season ended eight games from the finish because of a concussion.
On Thursday, the Wolves will conclude their eighth consecutive losing season aware just how crucial the coming summer will be. The team still lacks mental toughness, not to mention a dependable shot blocker, bench depth and most noticeably players who can handle the ball, create plays and make shots from both wing positions.
Wolves owner Glen Taylor is bringing back President of Basketball Operations David Kahn for a fourth season because Taylor says he likes the job Kahn has done since he signed a three-year contract to run the team in May 2009.
Kahn drafted Rubio fifth overall a month later, then patiently waited two years until he signed him and brought him to the NBA last summer. He also patiently pursued Adelman for months last summer before signing him to replace fired Kurt Rambis, whom Kahn hired in his third month on the job.