Love Don't Live Here Anymore: The Official 2014-15 Minnesota Timberwolves Thread
- Thread starter We Ready
- Start date
Roster Reload: Wolves must be patient
2014-15 record: 16-66
Pythagorean record: 20-62
Offensive rating: 99.8 (26th)
Defensive rating: 109.6 (30th)
Under Contract for 2015-16
Player Salary RPM WARP
Gorgui Dieng $1,474,440 -1.1 6.6
Shabazz Muhammad $2,056,920 -2.0 2.3
Ricky Rubio $12,700,000 2.5 1.7
Kevin Martin $7,085,000 -2.4 1.8
Nikola Pekovic $12,100,000 0.4 1.2
Anthony Bennett $5,803,560 -7.1 -0.5
Andrew Wiggins $5,758,680 -1.3 -1.3
Zach LaVine $2,148,360 -7.1 -1.5
Adreian Payne $1,938,840 -5.6 -1.9
Possible Free Agents
Player Type RPM WARP
Justin Hamilton Restricted -2.6 1.6
Kevin Garnett Unrestricted 0.8 1.3
Chase Budinger Player option -3.8 0.8
Arinze Onuaku Restricted - 0.4
Lorenzo Brown Non-guaranteed - 0.1
Robbie Hummel Restricted -3.2 -0.5
Gary Neal Unrestricted -3.9 -1.0
Draft picks
Own first-round pick (1st entering lottery)
Own second-round pick (31st)
Sacramento second-round pick (36th)
Projected cap space
Maximum: $11.6 million
Minimum: $0
Likely: $0
What's returning
Andrew Wiggins! While the No. 1 overall pick was taxed by the heavy load he had to carry for an injury-depleted Timberwolves team -- he led the NBA in minutes played after January 1, playing 200 more than anyone else -- he flashed more than enough potential at age 20 to suggest Minnesota's future is in good hands.
Outside of Wiggins, there are a lot of question marks. Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic, the veterans in the Timberwolves' starting five, missed a combined 94 games due to injuries. Martin was typically productive as a scorer when he did play, and could have trade value with two years left on his contract. Pekovic, however, never looked right physically and saw his shooting percentage dip from 54.1 percent to 42.4 percent. He recently underwent a debridement of his Achilles tendon that Minnesota hopes will help Pekovic get healthy. With three years and more than $35 million left on his contract, that's a must.
Point guard Ricky Rubio, who signed a four-year, $55 million extension last October, is an established starter and also young enough to still be part of the Timberwolves' future core at age 24. Alas, Rubio too was hampered by injuries, badly spraining his ankle early in the season and then seeing the same ankle flare up late in the season. He ultimately underwent surgery on the ankle in hopes of solving the issue.
Second-year center Gorgui Dieng did a solid job of filling in for Pekovic, though he hasn't developed into the kind of rim protector his college performance portended. The other Timberwolves' youngsters were hit and miss, sometimes night to night. Raw rookie Zach LaVine was forced into a starting role at times and was one of the league's least effective players. Former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett wasn't much better than during his rookie season in Cleveland and may not have his fourth-year option picked up. Shabazz Muhammad developed into a punishing post scorer, but missed 44 games. And midseason addition Adreian Payne shot just 42.9 percent on 2-point attempts.
Free agents
Kevin Garnett's return to the Twin Cities at the trade deadline was emotional, if short-lived on the court. Garnett played just five games in a Timberwolves jersey, missing the last 22 with knee soreness. Still, it appears Garnett will come back on a new contract as a veteran mentor.
Garnett's injury opened up playing time for Justin Hamilton, acquired on waivers in March. The D-League standout translated that success to the NBA for the first time in his career, making 53.5 percent of his 2-point attempts. That could earn Hamilton a new contract with Minnesota.
Biggest need: patience
In Wiggins, the Timberwolves already appear to have the centerpiece that is usually most difficult for rebuilding teams to acquire. Still, they're several years and pieces away from competing in the Western Conference. Impatience is a threat for a team whose head coach (Flip Saunders) also controls player personnel. While Saunders willingly turned the team over to young players after early injuries to veterans, he's still less than a year removed from giving up the Miami Heat's protected first-round pick for a year of Thaddeus Young, who was flipped at the trade deadline for Garnett.
Biggest question: Where does Minnesota go in the draft?
The Timberwolves don't have a single, glaring need -- and that's a good thing for a team that enters the draft lottery with the best odds of picking No. 1 overall (25 percent). Minnesota is free to pick the best player available, though that could have a ripple effect elsewhere on the roster. If the Timberwolves land a top-two pick and take either Duke's Jahlil Okafor or Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns, do they move Dieng to a team in need of a starting center?
Ideal offseason
Minnesota becomes the first team since the Orlando Magic in 2004 to win the lottery with the league's worst record. The Timberwolves draft Towns, who becomes the interior anchor needed to upgrade a porous defense. Wiggins dramatically improves his shooting percentages in year two, bolstered by playing with a healthy Rubio and the mismatches afforded by teaming with Muhammad on the wing. Garnett takes young power forwards Bennett, Hamilton and Payne under his tutelage and helps them make good on their potential.
KillaCali32
Banned
great, thanks man!