After a disappointing 2016-17 NBA season, the Minnesota Timberwolves made significant changes during the offseason in preparation for Year 2 under head coach Tom Thibodeau. While all the attention has been on the Jimmy Butler trade, the Timberwolves signed Jeff Teague, Taj Gibson, and Jamal Crawford.

In an exclusive interview with Peter Walsh of SLAM, Karl-Anthony Towns has high expectations for the upcoming season with the new additions:

No, I expect us to be in the playoffs and I expect us to compete in the playoffs and have Minnesota rocking not just for one round, but for multiple rounds. We have a lot of faith in ourselves that this is something that we can do and we have a coaching staff behind us and great teammates. I think we have something truly special here.

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With all teams chasing the defending champion Golden State Warriors, it will be interesting to see how quickly the Timberwolves gel together. Armed with four All-Star caliber players according to Kevin Durant, Las Vegas expects Minnesota to make a significant jump in their win total.

As the Western Conference has somehow gotten more competitive, Towns and Andrew Wiggins will have to take the next step in their development if they want to make a deep playoff push against the Warriors, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs.