Minnesota Timberwolves veterans Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson understand the pressure on Karl-Anthony Towns to grow as a leader of the team, and they are doing their best to help the young big man fulfill the role.

Following the departure of Jimmy Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns — alongside Andrew Wiggins — was thrown into a leadership role for the Timberwolves. Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson, however, know that it's a long process and will take time.

“For the old guys, we understand where he’s coming from,” Rose said to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “We’re here to help. It’s good to see him take on that challenge of becoming a leader. It takes time. We know that. We love that he’s taking on that challenge. That’s all that we ask him to do.”

For Towns, it hasn't happened all at once. The Timberwolves were young and downright bad in his first two years in the league. Then last year, his third year in the league, Butler came in as the top dog in the locker room. The 23-year-old is still trying to become the leader that Minnesota needs.

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“Sometimes it’s not an overnight thing,” Gibson added. “A lot of players tend to just go out there and play and let their game talk. I was with Derrick when he was the MVP (in 2011). He wasn’t really an outspoken kind of kid. As time went on, he learned to manage the team and correct guys that needed correcting.

“KAT has been learning that way. He’s been doing a great job as far as being a guy in the huddle, understanding how to practice hard and push everybody every day, take responsibility. He sees defense, wanting to guard the best guys, wanting to guard the best centers. At times we gotta slow him down and understand that we really need him to play the whole game. It’s a process and hes’ been doing a great job.”

Now that Butler is off gallivanting in Philadelphia, Towns must fill that leadership void. Rose and Gibson said that Towns is taking on that role and improving every day, but his “leadership” must translate to wins to truly prove that he is taking ownership in Minnesota.