The 2013 Minnesota Timberwolves Preview

By Jody Wagner
Saturday, July 27th, 2013

The Minnesota Timberwolves will be the most underrated team prior to the 2013-2014 NBA season.  Many analysts, especially at ESPN, won't give the Wolves much credit.  The Wolves had a terrible record last year.  There were a good number of reasons for that, and they've all been corrected.  After the first month of the 2013-2014 season, reporters will be asking where the Timberwolves came from.

The Timberwolves have grown, gotten healthy, and made some good moves this off-season.  I'm going to predict the Timberwolves will make a good run this year.  Not only will the Wolves make the playoffs, but they'll also win at least one series in the playoffs.

Free Agent/Trade Additions: SG Kevin Martin, SF/SG Corey Brewer, C/PF Ronny Turiaf

Draft Additions: SG/SF Shabazz Muhammad, C Gorgui Dieng

Departures: SF/PF Andrei Kirilenko, PG Luke Ridnour, C Greg Stiemsma, SG Brandon Roy, PG/SG Malcolm Lee, SF/SG Mikael Gelabale

Center: Nikola Pekovic is the starter here.
 

Nikola Pekovic is the enforcer.  He is possibly the strongest and toughest man in the NBA today.  He goes where he wants to on the court, and nobody can stop him.  He's gotten better year after year, and expect him to be even better this year.  The Timberwolves have added three point snipers to the roster, including Kevin Love coming back.  This will open up the middle for Pekovic.

Ronny Turiaf is coming in to take over for the departed Greg Stiemsma.  Turiaf is a tough, hard-nosed big man who will mentor incoming rookie center Gorgui Dieng.  Chris Johnson may also see time here.

Power Forward: Kevin Love is the starter here.
 

 Kevin Love is an All Star.  Kevin Love is a Gold Medal Olympian.  Kevin Love is so good, he can get 31 points and 31 rebounds in one game.  Kevin Love has so much range, he won the 2012 three point shooting contest.  Kevin Love is so tough, he can jump in a frozen lake. Kevin Love can box out a sumo wrestler.   Kevin Love is such a beast, he'll break the backboard, or he'll crush you if you get in his way.  Kevin Love is why the Timberwolves will make a run in the playoffs this year.  He missed most of last year due to a hand injury.  He'll be healthy this year, and he'll lead the Timberwolves into the playoffs.  In Love's absence, most of last years PF minutes went to Derrick Williams and Dante Cunningham.  Kevin Love is a huge upgrade over what was out there last season.

Backing up Kevin Love are Derrick Williams and Dante Cunningham.  Williams, the 2011 2nd overall pick in the draft, may also see some time at SF, due to Kevin Love being at PF.  Williams improved his numbers in his second season last year and always puts in his work.  Dante Cunningham is a high energy guy and a very good guy to have coming off the bench.  The Timberwolves have a lot of depth at PF.

Small Forward: Corey Brewer is probably the starter here.


Corey Brewer might start for his ability to shut people down on defense.  The other thing he can do really well is catch alley-oops from Rubio.  He also hit over 40% from the corners on 3 pointers.

If Corey Brewer starts, Chase Budinger and Derrick Williams will back him up.  It is possible that either of those guys could also start. Chase Budinger is a favorite of mine. Whether he's in the dunk contest or popping threes, he's impressive.  These guys are all an upgrade over Kirilenko, in the sense that they fit Adelman's system better.  The good news for Wolves fans is that the Wolves have a lot of depth here, and can go with whomever has the hot hand at the moment.

Shooting Guard:  Kevin Martin is the starter here.


Kevin Martin is the Timberwolves' big off-season move.  It was a great move by the new President of Operations, Flip Saunders.  He gives the Timberwolves exactly what the team needed, a scorer.  He can hit 3's, he can drive, and more importantly he will take the pressure off Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio.  Other teams are going to have to respect him.  He's a huge upgrade over Brandon Roy who didn't hardly play last year, and Luke Ridnour, who played much of the SG minutes, but was playing out of position.

Rookie Shabazz Muhammad could be the back-up here.  Shabazz is a scorer and can possibly be instant offense off the bench.  The Timberwolves could also go with Alexey Shved and/or Chase Budinger here as a back-up, depending on what happens with Derrick Williams' playing time at SF, or if the Wolves want to go with a 3-man rotation at SF/SG with Martin, Brewer, and Budinger.  It will all depend on how Williams and Muhammad impress Coach Rick Adelman.

Point Guard:  Ricky Rubio is the starter here.


Ricky Rubio missed the first month of the season.  Then it took him a while to get back into the flow of things.  When he did, he was very good.  Ricky Rubio is a magician with the basketball.  It's just too bad he can't have the nickname Magic.  Maybe wizard?  Rubio will be even more magical this year.  Kevin Love and Kevin Martin will spread the defense out opening up the middle for Rubio to operate.  Rubio will also have more athletes to bring some lob city to Mpls with Corey Brewer and Chase Budinger here full time this season. Ricky Rubio has become a team leader. I expect Rubio and Love to really take this team over this year and lead this team into the playoffs.

JJ Barea will be the primary back-up PG.  He is a spark plug off the bench. Alexey Shved could also see some time at PG.

Coaching: Rick Adelman is back.


Rick Adelman coming back is huge for the Timberwolves. He missed a bunch of games last year due to the health of his wife. She has gotten much better by all reports and Adelman will be back. The Timberwolves didn't do well in his absence. With his return, the Wolves will make a nice run this year.

The Draft:


1. (14) SG/SF Shabazz Muhammad
1. (21) C Gorgui Dieng
2. (52) PG Lorenzo Brown
2. (59) C Bojan Dubljevic

Shabazz Muhammad is instant offense.  He will be a back-up, and his minutes will depend on training camp and how much he impresses head Coach Rick Adelman.  The Wolves have a deep bench and Muhammad could be brought along slowly.

"Brought along slowly" could be the theme of this years draft class.  Gorgui Dieng, a very good shot blocker, will probably be behind Pekovic and Turiaf on the depth chart.  He'll get his minutes if he impresses early, but don't count on it.  He's going to be good eventually, just don't expect it to come right away.

Lorenzo Brown and Bojan Dubljevic will probably play overseas this year.

Fox Sports NBA analyst Marques Johnson said the Timberwolves were the winner of the 2013 NBA Draft. NBA TV analysts Greg Anthony and David Aldridge loved the Wolves' draft.  Greg Anthony even went as far as to say the Wolves were the winner of the 2013 NBA draft.

What to Expect:  
The Timberwolves are coming together as a team.  Pieces were added this off-season that compliment the other pieces on the team.  Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love, and Nikola Pekovic are good at what they do, but they  needed a scoring shooting guard.  Flip Saunders went out and got Kevin Martin.  The team felt like it needed more defense and Kevin Martin helped recruit Corey Brewer here.  All of these pieces are fitting together nicely.  All of these players want to be here and they want to play together.  It all gets this fan excited as to what could possibly happen.

The Timberwolves are going to put up a lot of high scoring games this year.  Expect a lot of dunks and a lot of three pointers. The two Kevin's will get their 20 points per game.

Rick Adelman has his hands full though.  He has one of those issues that every coach wouldn't mind having.  He has so many good players, that there could be complaints about playing time.  Shabazz Muhammad was a star just 2 years ago in high school.  He was a star last year at UCLA.  This year he'll probably have to share time with Brewer, Budinger, Williams, Shved, and Martin.  At power forward, we have Love, Williams, Cunningham, and Johnson.  Williams and Cunningham both deserve to play, but someone won't be happy with a lack of playing time.  There just won't be enough minutes to go around.

This is why I think there could be a trade before the season starts, or some time before the trade deadline.  It would make sense to package a couple of good players for a really good player.  If the right deal presents itself, a move could/should be made.

The Lakers lost Dwight Howard.  Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant are both a year older and injuries are starting to catch up with them.  The Nuggets lost Andre Iguodala.  That will really hurt them.  The Utah Jazz lost Al Jefferson and Paul Milsap.  That will hurt them. The Timberwolves have gotten better.  You combine the Wolves' improvement with the decline of the Lakers, Jazz, and the Nuggets, expect a huge jump in the standings from the Timberwolves.