The Minnesota Timberwolves made several moves in the offseason, but where do they stack in the loaded Western Conference?
The Minnesota Timberwolves made several moves in the offseason. Moves that they hope will help them make the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.
They picked up Jimmy Butler in a draft night trade, while also picking up Jamal Crawford, Jeff Teague, and Taj Gibson during free agency. In the process, Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine, and Kris Dunn were all traded away.
Lately, they’ve been in the news as part of the Kyrie Irving made talks. The Timberwolves are open to making moves and this offseason has shown just that. However, acquiring Irving seems unlikely at this point, unless they make Andrew Wiggins available. But that’s another topic for another day.
While we haven’t seen this team play together just yet, it’s hard to imagine that most of the offseason moves won’t pay off. Jimmy Butler alone would have been a great addition for the team. The team is reportedly interested in Ian Clark, who would be a great pick up for them, as well.
In addition to T. Allen, one FA the #Twolves remain interested in is Ian Clark, I hear. Word also is he's turned down other minimum offers. pic.twitter.com/7AQGIFvShv
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) July 26, 2017
Last season, the Minnesota Timberwolves finished 13th in the Western Conference with a record of 31-51. With how competitive the Western Conference is, it’s always hard to tell where teams will land.
However, the Timberwolves made significant improvements to their team and they absolutely have the potential to make the playoffs. Here’s what Jimmy Butler had to say about it, as reported by Tim MacMahon over at ESPN.
"“Our expectations are going to be to win,” said Butler, who joins recent No. 1 overall picks Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins to form a talented trio after the Timberwolves acquired him in a blockbuster draft-night deal with the Chicago Bulls. “That’s why they brought me here. These young guys are really, really, really talented. I’m just here to push them to the best of their ability.”"
Jimmy Butler is only 27, so there’s still plenty of time for him in his prime. Last season, he averaged career highs in scoring (23.9 points per game), rebounds (6.2), assists (5.5) and steals (1.9). That’s not a bad season to be coming off of and it looks as though he’s ready to perform just as well, if not even better than last season.
Heading into the 2017-18 season, I believe it’s safe to say that the Timberwolves will be making the playoffs, but I don’t see them upending some of the best teams in the Western Conference just yet.
It’s likely they fall somewhere in the 6-8 seed range. However, it would be best for them to push for something closer to the 6th seed just so they aren’t going up against Golden State in the first round.
Next: Minnesota Timberwolves: How an aggressive Tom Thibodeau won the NBA offseason
The Minnesota Timberwolves were already a fun team to watch with the young players they had, but with Jimmy Butler, it should be even more fun now. If you’re someone who isn’t a Timberwolves fan, but has League Pass during the season, put this team on your list of one’s to watch. They’ll greatly improve this season.