Timberwolves make big off-season moves, look to compete for NBA title

Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly is already constructing a roster to promote the Wolves closer to our title aspirations.

In a blockbuster trade over the summer, the Timberwolves obtained three-time defensive player of the year, “the Stifle Tower”, Rudy Gobert. The Wolves had to give up several firstround picks, Leandro Bolmaro, threepoint specialist Malik Beasley and two elite defensive players in Patrick Beverley and Jarred Vanderbilt.

Losing Vanderbilt will be a tough pill to swallow, as he was my favorite player on the Wolves last year. He was a perfect hybrid defender, able to effectively guard the perimeter and interior. Vanderbilt was a highenergy player who lit a fire under the rest of the team.

Along with Vanderbilt, Beverley brought the energy that the Wolves needed when our stars were struggling, though, at times, it seemed like it was more of a distraction than a positive influence.

The Gobert trade sacrifices some depth on the Wolves’ roster, but honestly, the Wolves had so many solid bench players last year and should be able to fill in the gaps. Jordan McLaughlin is not a great shooter or defender, and the point guard position will be the weakest part of our bench, but McLaughlin will be a solid playmaker behind D’Angelo Russell.

Jaylen Nowell was a huge spark off the bench when he got minutes last year, and Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch has hinted that he will have a more prominent role on the Wolves going forward. Last year he played in only 62 games averaging 15.7 minutes per game and was still able to put up 8.5 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists per game. These stats may not jump off the page at you, but this man is a walking bucket.

Nowell is one of the most dynamic offensive talents on the team, and if he can improve his three-point percentage a bit, he will be a much better version of Malik Beasley and be a source of instant offense for the Wolves. The Wolves have also replenished some depth in free agency as they acquired two-way forward Kyle Anderson. Anderson will do his best to fill the void of Vanderbilt on the defensive end and will be able to have more production offensively.

Many people will also point to Austin Rivers, Bryn Forbes and Eric Paschall, who the Wolves picked up in free agency, but I don’t expect them to get significant minutes. The draft picks, Wendell Moore Jr. and Josh Minott, will also look to crack the rotation, although I wasn’t too impressed with their summer league performances.

Now, let’s not forget about the entire reason behind this trade; acquiring Gobert will instantly place the Wolves among the top starting five units in the league. With much to prove, an exciting young Anthony Edwards will lead the way alongside Karl-Anthony Towns, one of the most versatile centers of all time.

As long as KAT can keep his composure and be efficient from the power forward spot, those two will be one of the best duos in the league. The supporting cast of Russell, Jaden McDaniels and Gobert will likely fill out the starting five. A lot of question marks surround Russell, which is fair. At times, he gets trigger-happy and fires a random three pointer in transition for no reason. However, people tend to overlook his leadership abilities and good start to last year, where he was the reason the Wolves won some games.

Russell also thrives in pick-and-roll situations, which the wolves barely used last year. He ranked 31st in the NBA in frequency of pick-and-roll situations compared to his all-star season in 2018-19, when he ranked second.

Hopefully, with the addition of Gobert, a very effective roller, the Wolves will create easy points at the rim. I expect the Wolves to reach the second round of the playoffs, but a title run is not out of the picture. The team’s success depends on how the big lineup will work against some of the small ball lineups that are so common in today’s game. I think the Wolves have a top-three team in the league on paper. The star power and wellbalanced depth will be difficult for any team to match.