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It seems that a breakthrough for the Minnesota Timberwolves has been a long time coming. Is it finally happening in the upcoming 2021-2022 NBA season?
It's been a seesaw for the Wolves over the past few seasons. Despite the lack of success during the regular season, the franchise has managed to scoop up quite the talent when it comes to the annual NBA Draft. Last year, they snagged guard Anthony Edwards as their first overall pick. Edwards is the third first pick Minnesota has had the privilege of acquiring in the past seven seasons. After acquiring 2014 first overall pick Andrew Wiggins in a draft-day trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team then snagged superstar big man Karl-Anthony Towns as their first overall pick the next season. Although Wiggins has parted ways with the team, Minnesota still has Edwards and Towns plus another former lottery pick D'Angelo Russel – the second overall pick in the 2015 draft selected right after Towns.
With that much talent, it seems that the Timberwolves should at least be a team that is a legitimate playoff contender on paper. Unfortunately, things haven't gone their way with injuries being the major hurdle for this young squad. That being said, this season might be the season for the hungry Wolves to finally get over the hump.
Here are three way-too-early bold predictions for Minnesota's 21-22 season:
3. KAT makes an All-Star return
Towns is the team's cornerstone. All the moves the front office has done over the past few seasons were to help build around their superstar and make sure they put in complementary pieces for KAT. Minnesota has been trying to add guards and other role players to surround him but things just haven't gone their way. The team even traded for Russell, Towns' good friend, in the latter part of the 2019-2020 season just to somehow prove to Towns that the organization had long-term plans for him.
KAT has been a beast ever since he entered the league. After being selected as the ROTY in 2016, the Kentucky standout became an All-NBA member in 2018 and also made it to the All-Star team in back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019. Towns though was only limited to playing 85 games over the past two seasons which has hampered his growth in the league. Several health concerns have been the major issue for KAT over the past few seasons. Last season, he contracted COVID-19 in the middle of the season while losing seven family members to the deadly virus, including his mom Jacqueline.
With all that behind him, it seems more than likely that KAT is as hungry as can be coming into the 21-22 season. Injuries and all, Towns has proven that he's still one of the brightest young stars in the league at the young age of 25. And, with expectations a tad bit low for the franchise this season, don't be surprised if Towns grabs the spotlight and marches his way to his third All-Star nod this coming season.
2. D'Angelo Russel plays all 82 games
Another star who's prime for a huge comeback year is DLo. Since entering the league in 2015, Russell has played with a huge chip on his shoulder and has propelled himself to be one of the more crafty guards in the NBA. Thing is, injuries have been a major concern for the former second overall pick as he's only been able to play two full seasons in six total campaigns.
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Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell can't seem to catch a break.
Hopefully things can turn around for the Timberwolves duo and they finally get some more games together under their belt 🙏 pic.twitter.com/lptdv6mFNM
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 30, 2021
Minnesota is already Russel's fourth team in six years. He made a name for himself as an elite scoring guard as part of the Brooklyn Nets where he earned his first-and-only All-Star nod (so far). Since arriving in February 2020 though, Russell has only played 54 games for the franchise with several injuries also slowing him down.
Russell did finish the 20-21 season quite strong. After sitting out two calendar months for the Timberwolves last year, Russell bounced back and finished the rest of the season averaging 18.7 points per game alongside 6.5 assists. Minnesota fans are hoping more of the same frim their starting guard this coming year and I'm going out on a limb here in predicting that he's going to finish his seventh season in the NBA healthy as ever.
1. The Timberwolves make the playoffs
If KAT and DLo get back to their All-Star shape then there's no reason why the Minnesota Timberwolves don't make it to at least a play-in spot this coming season. On paper, this team definitely has what it takes to be in the running for a top-10 team in the West. And, if Towns and Russell can stay on the court, the potential for them to form one of the most deadly duos in the league is huge.
Adding in another young star in Edwards only helps their case. Edwards doesn't demand the ball a lot and has proven in his rookie season that can he can be effective alongside Russell and/or Towns. They've also acquired elite defenders in Taurean Prince and Patrick Beverley this offseason which can only benefit this young squad.
This team might be a piece or two away from being a legitimate playoff contender but if Towns, Russell, and Edwards all go off, don't be shocked if the Timberwolves howl their way to the 2022 playoffs.
