Minnesota T-Wolves 2019-2020 Season Outlook

By: Dave Furtado, Head Basketball Analyst

The next team in our series of offseason breakdowns comes out of the Western Conference. This time around I’ll be breaking down the summer that was for one of the more frustrating teams in the Western Conference, the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Key Additions: Noah Vonleh, Jordan Bell, Trevor Graham

Key Subtractions: Derrick Rose, Tyus Jones, Dario Saric

Draft: Jarrett Culver, Jaylen Nowell 

The T-Wolves are coming off of a pretty tumultuous 2018 season that saw them miss the playoffs, finishing 11th in the Western Conference. Minnesota’s season was highlighted by two events. The infamous practice in which Jimmy Butler went on a tirade and eventually wound up being dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers, and the emotional night in which Derrick Rose reminded everyone why he was the youngest MVP in league history. However both of these players are no longer with the organization and it is time for the club to look in a different direction.

Free agency wasn’t the biggest success for Minnesota as they saw two important backcourt pieces in Rose and Tyus Jones leave town. However they were able to bring in Noah Vonleh, Jordan Bell, and Trevor Graham. While none of these three are game changers, they add some decent depth to the Timberwolves bench. The team is also returning several key players including Jeff Teague, Andrew Wiggnins (oof) and Karl Anthony-Towns. Now I added a little extra comment next to Wiggins and it has nothing to with his talent as he’s immensely gifted. However he isn’t competitive enough to thrive in the NBA and that has been apparent throughout his entire career to this point.

As for the draft, the T-Wolves did well for themselves. They pulled off a draft night trade with the Phoenix Suns, sending Dario Saric and the 11th overall pick to Phoenix in exchange for the 6th overall selection. With that pick the T-Wolves took Texas Tech guard Jarrett Culver. This was a phenomenal pick by Minnesota for a variety of reasons. Culver has drawn some comparisons to former Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler. Being able to add in the same type of player they had in Butler, but this time without the large and sometimes problematic personality, should do wonders for Minnesota’s on court product. After taking Culver, Minnesota didn’t pick again until 43rd overall, where they drafted Washington guard Jaylen Nowell. Nowell will bring some nice depth to the backcourt providing some instant offense off of the bench as well as being a plus rebounder for a shooting guard. He brings solid defense on the ball, but there is room for some improvement off of the ball. Overall Nowell should be a nice addition to the Timberwolves bench provided he gets an opportunity to play. 

Final Outlook on the Minnesota T-Wolves

The T-Wolves are a tough team to gauge for the upcoming season. They are firmly in the middle of the pack in what has become a fairly wide open Western Conference. Several things will need to go right in order for Minnesota to make the playoffs, such as Andrew Wiggins finally showing up and playing like a former number one pick, and Jarrett Culver filling a sizeable role on offense. I don’t expect the T-Wolves to be in the playoffs this season, but I do believe that they’ll be more competitive than their 36 wins from a season ago. Minnesota will  likely finish with a record of 42-39 and just miss the Western Conference Playoffs.