Year 1 of the Rudy Gobert experiment delivered mixed results in Minnesota with the team stumbling their way into a first round playoff loss to the eventual champion Nuggets after finishing in the play-in. The Timberwolves will hope for a cleaner bill of health for Karl-Anthony Towns as well as the continued ascension of first-time All-Star Anthony Edward. In these previews, we will take a look at each team’s key acquisitions, fantasy stars, and projected finish.
Key Acquisitions
Minnesota will enter the season with largely the same core of players that willed them to the postseason a year ago only with some movement on the wings.
Shake Milton and Troy Brown Jr. both joined the squad in free agency in what proved virtually a straight swap for Taurean Prince and Jaylen Nowell.
They also drafted G-League Ignite’s Leonard Miller and UCLA’s Jaylen Clark in the second round.
Milton last year appeared in 76 games for Philadelphia averaging 8.4 ppg and 3.2 assists before falling out of the rotation come the playoffs.
A dynamic offensive player with a strong knack for getting to the rim, Milton offers the Timberwolves another wing option to plug into the rotation.
Brown Jr., meanwhile, made 76 appearances for the Lakers – starting in 45 of them – averaging 7.1 ppg and shooting 38.1 per cent on 3.7 threes per game.
The 24-year-old a near career-best campaign in LA despite seeing his role dwindle come playoff time but should provide useful minutes to a Minnesota team in need of steadiness on the wings.
Fantasy Stars
Anthony Edwards (16th overall, 6th SG/4th SF) and Karl-Anthony Towns (29th overall, 11th PF/8th C) are the Timberwolves who will draw the most interest in fantasy circles.
Edwards is coming off a year in which he played in 79 games averaging 24.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, and 4.4 apg on 56.4 TS% which jumped up to 31.6 ppg and 5.2 apg on 60.2 TS% in the playoffs.
Towns suffered through an injury-plagued season in which he appeared in just 29 games averaging 20.8 ppg (his lowest mark since his rookie year), 8.1 rpg (the lowest mark of his career), and 4.8 apg on 61.8 TS%.
Projected Finish
The Timberwolves will expect their start to the season to prove smoother than it was a year ago – a six-game losing streak in late-December saw them slump to a 16-21 record heading into the new year.
Gobert and deadline acquisition Mike Conley are now acclimatised, Towns should enjoy a healthier year, and Edwards will look to build on his impressive summer with Team USA.
Their defence should again be good and their offence should improve, although, whether the aforementioned changes result in any meaningful improvement in a stacked Western Conference remains to be seen.
A play-in finish feels like an appropriate bar but, like the rest of the West, Chris Finch’s squad will be eager to avoid it.
