The Minnesota Timberwolves Did It Again
Fine, I’ll talk about the Minnesota Timberwolves. The T-Wolves are the laughing stock of the NBA but over the past few seasons, they have been building for the future. Trades had finally been working out for them and even better, their high draft selections were panning out.
While this franchise had already wasted the primes of Kevin Garnett and Kevin Love (if you’re named Kevin, don’t do to Minnesota), it seemed like they would be able to compete in the Western Conference with the core that they had built. A lot of it had to do with Gersson Rosas, who was hired in 2019 and changed the direction of the franchise in a few short seasons.
Rosas’ firing a few days ago was shocking, but his actions were indefensible, no matter how good he was at his job. But now that the team will likely have to find a new President of Basketball Operations, the momentum they had built over the past few seasons might be gone.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have Timberwolved a once good situation. Yes, I am trademarking the phrase “Timberwolved.”
The Gersson Rosas Era (2019-2021)
Look, I know Gersson Rosas isn’t a model citizen or anything like that. However, from strictly a job point of view, he knew what he was doing. Rosas had worked under Daryl Morey in Houston for a long time and he finally gave Minnesota some stability. He made the Timberwolves look promising with a lot of great moves in succession.
Rosas was hired in May of 2019, just after the T-Wolves finished 36-46 on the season, missing the playoffs again. They traded Jimmy Butler midseason and they just couldn’t figure things out. They had their franchise cornerstone in Karl-Anthony Towns, but the rest of the roster needed an overhaul.
While his first major move in the 2019 NBA Draft was a bust, drafting Jarrett Culver 6th overall, he’s been spot-on ever since. (They wanted Darius Garland, but then they absolutely whiffed by taking Culver).
But after the Jarrett Culver mishap in the draft, Rosas has been up there with one of the best front office members in the NBA.
February 5th, 2020 – Malik Beasley & Jarred Vanderbilt Arrive
The Minnesota Timberwolves were awful during the 2019-20 season. By early February, they were 15-35 and not making the playoffs. So Rosas made some moves, the first one being a big four-team trade that has worked out incredibly well for Minnesota.
In one part of the deal, the T-Wolves were selling high on Robert Covington and shipping him off to Houston. They also traded Noah Vonleh, Shabazz Napier, and Keita Bates-Diop to Denver. All 4 of those guys didn’t fit into the T-Wolves’ rebuilding timeline, so it made sense to give them up.
In return, Minnesota got Malik Beasley, Juan Hernangomez, and Jarred Vanderbilt from Denver. They also got a first-round pick from the Atlanta Hawks. Immediately, this return package made the Timberwolves much better.
Malik Beasley was a solid bench player for the Nuggets, but he didn’t fit in anymore with their crowded backcourt. He struggled during the 2020 season, but once he got to Minnesota? He was a completely different player. He finished the 2020 season on a tear with the Timberwolves. In 14 games, he did this;
20.7 ppg – 5.1 rpg – 59% TS
Beasley turned into a scoring machine and that torrid stretch got him a 4 year / $60 million dollar extension with the T-Wolves that summer. Beasley remained a great scorer in 2021 and if he can get his off-the-court life together, he is going to be a great piece for the T-Wolves going forward.
But perhaps the biggest addition in this trade was Jarred Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt was another talented youngster who just couldn’t get playing time in Denver. But since joining Minnesota, he’s shown flashes as being a great two-way player.
Vanderbilt has played 66 games with the T-Wolves over the past two seasons and this past season, he had a DBPM of 1. That’s pretty good and he earned himself a 3-year contract to stay in town this offseason. Vanderbilt could be the starting power forward option for the T-Wolves going forward and he’s a player to watch for the future.
This traded netted the T-Wolves two players who they have since re-signed long term. That’s a pretty good trade if you ask me. But the very next day, Gersson Rosas was still working his magic.
February 6th, 2020 – Andrew Wiggins Is Gone
Not even kidding. The very next day, the Timberwolves traded Andrew Wiggins. Knowing what we know now about Wiggins, this wasn’t surprising. But when he was drafted #1 overall back in 2014? He was supposed to be the next big thing out of Kansas and he was supposed to be one of the best players in the league.
He was marketed as this scoring machine, but he never panned out. The T-Wolves drafted KAT #1 overall in 2015 and Wiggins was never the best player on the court for Minnesota. But he still had 3 straight years of improvement and then got a big, 5-year contract extension after the 2017 season. Things didn’t work out after that.
Wiggins just stopped growing and a one-sided player who wasn’t impacting winning. It wasn’t surprising that they moved him, but I’m guessing that some GMs would have hung on to Wiggins, even if he wasn’t that good.
Wiggins was shipped off to Golden State and in return, the T-Wolves got D’Angelo Russell. While Russell hasn’t been the same player since he left Brooklyn in 2019, when healthy, the duo of him and Karl-Anthony Towns is elite. And even if D’Angelo Russell isn’t the answer? He could be used for a trade for Ben Simmons, a player who is perfect for Minnesota.
The only bad part of this trade is that the T-Wolves gave up their 2021 first-round pick, which ended up being 8th overall, but I don’t think it’s going to matter that much in the long run.
In two days, Rosas brought in 3 key new players for the T-Wolves rebuild and he still wasn’t done.
2021 NBA Night – Drafting Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels
2021 Draft Night was a good one for the T-Wolves. With the #1 overall pick, they took Anthony Edwards. While he may not end up being the best player from this draft, he is the best player for what the Timberwolves need. He brings some explosive scoring and the end to his rookie season showed his oozing potential. After the team got Chris Finch (more on that later), he burst onto the scene and backed up his #1 overall selection.
Hitting on a #1 overall pick is harder than it may seem, but I will give credit where credit is due. However, drafting Jaden McDaniels 28th overall? That was a steal and the T-Wolves got their hands on another great two-way wing.
McDaniels showed some flashes during his rookie season, displaying some good shooting and defense. He’s another one of those wings for the T-Wolves that could end up being a long-term answer for them. Rosas and Minnesota enjoyed a great 2021 draft night.
February 22nd, 2021 – Hire Chris Finch As Coach
The Timberwolves weren’t looking all that good to start the 2021 season. Anthony Edwards, their new #1 overall pick was struggling, Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell were struggling to stay healthy, and it was just a mess. So the Timberwolves made a surprising move.
Well, firing Ryan Saunders, the son of great coach Flip Saunders, wasn’t surprising. Ryan was never really a good coach, albeit the T-Wolves certainly weren’t the ideal situation for any coach. But he wasn’t the answer at coach long term for this team, but I was surprised at their replacement for Saunders.
Chris Finch. Finch was an assistant with Nick Nurse in Toronto and to be honest, I had never heard of him. But if he had coached with Nick Nurse, you knew he had to be good.
When Finch took over, the T-Wolves were 7-24. But with Finch at the helm, they saw immediate improvement. They ended the season 16-25 with Finch and showed some flashes of promise when they got healthy. Anthony Edwards took off in the 2nd half of the season, as he got the ball much more after Finch became head coach.
The T-Wolves defense was 28th in the league over the whole 72-game season. But in April and May, towards the end of the season, it was closer to 20th than 30th. I know that’s not something to ride home on, but still, it was an improvement nonetheless.
Finch looks like a good coach and a major upgrade over Saunders. This was another spot-on move by Rosas and the front office, finding a coach who looks like he can stay for a few seasons to build some continuity with the roster, something that Minnesota hasn’t had in a while.
2021 Offseason
Oh? You thought Gersson Rosas was done making moves? You, my friend, have been mistaken. The 2021 offseason for Minnesota was good but it went under the radar. They didn’t have their first-round pick in the draft thanks to the Andrew Wiggins trade, but they made some good moves in free agency.
They acquired a veteran defender in Patrick Beverley for basically free, trading away Jarrett Culver, who was of course Rosas’ first move and first failure with the team. Beverley gives the team some much-needed defense, some backup point guard minutes, and some grit that Minnesota hasn’t had since Jimmy Butler left. He gives them some backbone and he is going to be very valuable for them in 2021, even if it doesn’t show up in the box score.
Another good move was trading Ricky Rubio, a veteran point guard to Cleveland. Rubio was set to be paid $17.8 million in 2022, which is way too much for what he brings to the table. In return, Minnesota got Taurean Prince and a 2022 second-round pick.
I think that Prince gives them some more wing depth and shooting. Prince shot 40% from 3 last season and he is more offensive-minded than guys like McDaniels and Vanderbilt. While losing a solid veteran floor general in Rubio will show at times, I liked this move.
What Is Next For Minnesota?
It is clear that Gersson Rosas has made up most of this roster. If you look at it now, almost all of the pieces came from him;
(Itallic Indicates Players Brought In By Rosas)
D’Angelo Russell
Anthony Edwards
Malik Bealsey
Jarred Vanderbilt
Karl-Anthony Towns
Naz Reid (2019 2nd round)
Taurean Prince
Patrick Beverley
Jaylen Nowell (2019 2nd round)
Josh Okogie
Nathan Knight
Most of the roster has been assembled by Rosas, but now that he’s gone? There are a lot of consequences that could happen just because Rosas isn’t with the team anymore.
Let’s start with the obvious. When the Timberwolves eventually hire a new President of Basketball Operations, the team will now shift to what the new POB wants. I’m guessing the new POB won’t be as good as Rosas and won’t have the same ideas as him.
The new POB might want a new coach, since Chris Finch isn’t “his guy.” He might want new role players, since the current ones are again, “not his.” An executive in the NBA always wants to win with “his guys.” So if he doesn’t see production from one of Rosas’ guys, then he might move on from them prematurely.
I hope this doesn’t turn into a situation as the 76ers had a few years ago. They went through three different general managers and they were a mess. Sam Hinkie wanted them to rebuild, tanking for years and getting high draft picks. He drafted bust after bust like Nerlens Noel, Michael Carter Williams, and Jahlil Okafor.
They then transitioned to Bryan Colangelo, who was much better at his job. He drafted Ben Simmons, signed JJ Redick, and trading for guys like Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, giving the city of Philadelphia some much needed winning basketball.
But he tried to be like Kevin Durant on Twitter and he was quickly replaced with Elton Brand. Brand wasn’t good at his job, letting Jimmy Butler walk in free agency and giving Al Horford a massive 4-year contract when it was clear that he was declining.
I fear that the Timberwolves could be going down the same path. With Rosas, they slowly built up a solid young core and they were in the process of adding some veterans to complement things. Whoever they eventually replace Rosas with won’t have the same ideas as him.
The team will go in a different direction, a direction that is more than likely not going to be the right one for the team. I just feel bad for Minnesota and their fans. They were finally turning the corner a bit and looking to compete and now this curveball gets thrown their way.
I just hope that whoever they hire can continue to develop their young core and hopefully get Minnesota back in contention. I hope that Karl-Anthony Towns stays in town (no pun intended) and he can lead the T-Wolves into the future.
However, I expect the T-Wolves to implode, because that is just the nature of their franchise. They will hire somebody stupid, Towns will leave, and team will continue to just suck. Sorry T-Wolves’ fans, that’s just the reality for you.
What Is Next For The Timberwolves? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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