2022-23 NBA Season Preview on the Minnesota Timberwolves. Data, results from the previous season, a look at their roster and their future free agents, the objectives of the course, the player to watch and a forecast about the franchise.
The Minnesota Timberwolves
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- Movements in the market: Transfer by Rudy Gobert. Kyle Anderson and Bryn Forbes signing. Karl-Anthony Towns and Austin Rivers renovations. (here all the movements).
- Backcourt: D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards, Austin Rivers, Jordan McLaughlin, Jaylen Nowell, Bryn Forbes, Josh Minott y Wendell Moore.
- Frontcourt: Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Taurean Prince, Kyle Anderson y Naz Reid.
This is how they face the season
The Minnesota Timberwolves emerged as one of the positive surprises of the 2021-22 campaign. The 46 victories achieved during the regular season they opened the doors to the playoffs for the second time since 2005, a remarkable success considering that the previous two years they had compiled 19 and 23 wins, respectively. Thus, the elimination in the first round after a competitive series against the Memphis Grizzlies was not a disappointment, but rather an unequivocal sign that they were moving on the right path.
The first decision made by management was to sign Tim Connelly as the new president of operations. The team had begun to show the first green shoots and the main offices needed a contrasting figure to continue shaping the project. And the movements were immediate: in his first summer at the helm of the offices, Connelly shook the competition with a surprising operation that convulsed the NBA market.
The Timberwolves closed the trade of Rudy Gobert with the Utah Jazz in exchange for Jarred Vanderbilt, Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, Walker Kessler, Leandro Bolmaro and most of their draft rounds: the picks round of 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029 —the latter subject to Top 5 protection—, and a swap pick of 2026. Although it is true that the price to pay has been —and continues to be— the subject of heated debates for analysts and fans, the Timberwolves needed to take risks after their encouraging season in order to ratify their status as a reliable alternative within the Western Conference .
In Minnesota, it was urgent to address the team’s defense, rebounding and rim protection problems, three weaknesses that the presence of the French international will help to settle from the start. Of course, no one would argue with the defensive virtues of the season’s leading rebounder and three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner. The real concern is what his fit will look like alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and how his presence might impact his performance.
Gobert’s production is concentrated around the rim, which will move Towns to the ‘4’ spot. On offense, his outside shot will make this transition a lot easier, but in turn, he’ll be asked to cover the perimeter more than he has in his entire career. And defense isn’t exactly Towns’ forte. In any case, the architect of the notable improvement of the team, Chris Finch, has shared on several occasions his full conviction of being able to take advantage of the pair of big menswimming, thus, against the current small-ball that dominates the NBA, perhaps trying to emulate what the Cleveland Cavaliers did last year.
In any case, two nuances must be shared at this point. The Timberwolves have anticipated any potential defensive holes Towns’ perimeter pairings could create. The arrival of Kyle Anderson, an all-rounder and one of the best role players in the league, will serve to solve possible imbalances, not only in defense, but also in the creation, the rebound and the game in transition. Also, there are high hopes for Jaden McDaniels. At 22 years old, the player presents enviable conditions to establish himself as an imposing two-way player. Such is his potential that the Timberwolves preferred to add a few more rounds and players to the package for Gobert rather than include him in the deal.
On the other hand, both Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell are once again the team’s main references and offensive threats. On this occasion, they will enjoy a new ally: Gobert’s blocks, one of the best behind-the-screen point generators in the entire NBA. Russell will have the opportunity to recreate from the pick-and-roll, while Edwards will take advantage of them to impose his physical ability. In fact, he has added even more muscle to his upper body in order to drive to the basket more effectively and take on any opponent on the other side of the floor. The forward continues to grow by leaps and bounds and no one doubts his status as a franchise player and future face of the Timberwolves.
Furthermore, the presence of players like Bryn Forbes, Austin Rivers, Taurean Prince, Naz Reid, Jaylen Nowell, Jordan McLaughlin or rookie Wendell Moore make up a deep, versatile rotation with certain guarantees in order to give rest to the starters throughout the season. throughout the season and fight in the playoffs, which will be the team’s main challenge.
Beyond the doubts that may exist regarding the aforementioned adjustment between Gobert and Towns, the truth is that the Timberwolves fans have responded to the work carried out by the offices with overflowing optimism and support not seen in many years. According to the medium The Athletic, 93% of fans have renewed their season ticket, an amount to which they have added another 2,500 new subscribers. In addition, the franchise has received a significant economic boost after opening new business avenues and is seeing sponsorship deals reach record highs.
In short, the Timberwolves have chosen to shake up the market and carry out an important blow to their project, as necessary as it is risky. The hand of Chris Finch has revitalized the team, giving it an identity and a philosophy that he has been crying out for for years. Now the technician will have to make a new bobbin lace while continuing to develop the collective concept. As has been repeated on several occasions, the risk is tremendous, but if all the pieces fit perfectly, the Timberwolves will establish themselves as one of the most dangerous teams in the Western Conference during the 2022-23 season.
the player to watch
The explosion of Anthony Edwards and the arrival of Rudy Gobert will pose an important paradigm in the season of Karl-Anthony Towns. Coach Chris Finch is convinced that the defensive and offensive abilities of both inner towers are perfectly combinable and adjustable, but we have not yet been able to see visible signs of this theoretical approach.
The Dominican will have no problem opening the court because his outside shot is lethal: the 2021-22 season was the fourth of his career in which he exceeded 40% success in triples. However, about 58% of his shot attempts came within 10 feet of the basket, where Gobert tends to move. Perhaps a solution to this threat of paint congestion is to bring back the mid-range shot he exhibited during his first two years in the NBA.
In addition, his potential new role as power forward will be a challenge for him. Defense has never been his forte and the positional versatility that currently surrounds the NBA will lead him to face players faster than him on the perimeter. A weakness that Finch will have to tackle with defensive assists, quick assignment changes and Gobert’s interior containment.
In any case, Towns’s talent is beyond doubt and if he has joined the Frenchman it is to free him from any defensive burden so that he can focus exclusively on scoring and generating play for his teammates. It is possible that his individual figures, mainly rebounds and blocks, will decrease, but the collective dimension of the team will be much greater. And the success of the Timberwolves will depend, among other things, on how Towns responds to these developments.
Preview NBA 2022-23 Minnesota Timberwolves, forecast
Elio Martínez, director of nbamaniacs, leaves a personal and subjective forecast about what he thinks each franchise will do during the season in the previous NBA 2022-23.
It can be agreed that the experiment of putting Gobert and Towns together is exciting a priori for what they can achieve in an NBA of smallball while being convinced that the price paid by the French player was high. Or rather barbarity. It makes sense to want to win now, but the competition in the West is too high to think that with Gobert, Towns and Edwards you can win the conference final. I do not think so. At least not in 2023. Forecast: 48 wins and 12th-best record in the NBA.
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(Cover photo by David Berding/Getty Images)