2015-16 NBA Season Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves
Welcome to theScore's preview of the 2015-16 NBA season. Visit our season preview hub for comprehensive coverage of all 30 teams.
*Editor's note: This preview was written before the passing of Timberwolves president and head coach, Flip Saunders
Minnesota Timberwolves
2014-15
| Record | Northwest | West | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16-66 | 5th | 15th | N/A |
Offseason Roundup
| Additions | Departures |
|---|---|
| Karl-Anthony Towns (No. 1 pick) | Chase Budinger (Traded to IND) |
| Tyus Jones (No. 24 pick) | Robbie Hummel (not extended QO) |
| Tayshaun Prince (1 yr/$1.5M) | |
| Andre Miller (1 yr/$1.5M) | |
| Damjan Rudez (Acquired from IND) | |
| Nemanja Bjelica (3 yrs/$11.7M) |
Projected Starting 5
- PG Ricky Rubio
- SG Kevin Martin
- SF Andrew Wiggins
- PF Karl-Anthony Towns
- C Nikola Pekovic
MVP
He's only played one season in the NBA, but Wiggins has already begun his ascendancy. Like those players christened "the next one" before him (Grant Hill, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant), he basically became his team's go-to guy right away and won the league's Rookie of the Year award.
Martin led the team in points per game last season, but only played in 29 contests. There's also a chance the 32-year-old - with two years and $14 million left on his contract - will be traded in the coming months. The clear No. 1 role is Wiggins' to assume, and he showed flashes of his considerable talents last year in terms of finding his rhythm both offensively and defensively.
The Canadian prodigy played all 82 games last season, averaging just under 17 points and five rebounds. The scoring number will jump, especially if he can develop his shooting stroke, which should be in the 20-year-old's wheelhouse. Last season, coach Flip Saunders said he didn't want Wiggins to take too many threes. The logic of that is debatable, but a glance at his shooting statistics from last season shows lots of room for improvement.
| 2014-15 | 2P% | 3P% | FG% | eFG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Wiggins | 45.3 | 31 | 43.7 | 45.4 |
Breakout Player
The easy answer would be Towns. While he's not the consensus Rookie of the Year favorite, he should benefit from on-the-job training from Kevin Garnett. The real candidate, though, is small forward Shabazz Muhammad, who missed 44 games last year due to a severe hand injury.
Muhammad, who turns 23 in November, still averaged 13.5 points and 4.1 rebounds on 39.2 percent 3-point shooting in 38 contests. While he's a bit of a chucker, having him in certain situations on the wing with Wiggins will be advantageous for the Wolves. The 6-foot-6 Muhammad reportedly lost 30 pounds over the summer, freeing him up to be more of a swingman than a small-ball power forward.
Season Expectations
Let's be honest: not much in terms of the win column. The Wolves figure to improve on their victory total of 16 from last season, but this is clearly a youthful work in progress. With Flip Saunders undergoing treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma, Sam Mitchell will coach the team at least for the first part of the season.
The value of the 2015-16 Timberwolves' season will be the continued development of Wiggins, Muhammad, Towns, Zach LaVine, and Gorgui Dieng. Veteran mentoring from Garnett has been bolstered by the additions of Tayshaun Prince and Andre Miller, who will bring far more to the locker room than the floor. Prince's past experience as an elite wing defender could be invaluable for Wiggins, who possesses the skills to one day be an NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Expect trade rumors to continue swirling around Martin and Pekovic, and don't be surprised if and when one or both are moved. Point guard Rubio has said he wants to stay put, and with this young club, it's sometimes easy to forget that the sublime passer is only about to turn 25 himself.