League File | Standings | Schedule | League Leaders | Free Agents | Coaches | CSLO | D-League Standings | D-League Leaders | Player Potential Database

Minnesota Timberwolves Season Review

Write updates about your team or the league here.
Post Reply
User avatar
AlexS
General Manager
Posts: 916
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2019 3:14 pm
Contact:

Minnesota Timberwolves Season Review

Post by AlexS »

It was another long, cold winter in Minnesota this year and the Minnesota Timberwolves did nothing to warm the hearts of Minnesota Timberwolves fans as they suffered through another losing season with little hope of reaching the playoffs for most of the year. The team that is perpetually "1 year away" may in fact be "1 year away" however, as new additions from the previous offseason and through midseason acquisitions showed promise, cohesiveness, and in general CSL level quality that has been lacking from years past. Those additions, coupled with growth from budding young stars and an infusion of talent from the #4 overall selection in the upcoming draft and cap space to spend, has Wolves fans cautiously optimistic for the future in the frozen tundra. Let's take a look at some of the season stats.

Record : 25-57
Tempo : 98.6 (17th)
Wolves Opponents
PPG : 96.0 (30th) 101.3 (14th)
FG% : .431 (29th) .456 (14th)
3PM : 13.0 (2nd) 5.5 (1st)
FTA : 14.3 (30th) 22.4 (17th)
O/DEFF : 94.7 (26th) 99.9 (16th)
O/DEFG% : 43.8 (29th) 45.9 (14th)
O/DTO% : 16.5 (28th) 13.3 (18th)
O/DR% : 23.6 (25th) 71.5 (26th)
O/DFTRATE : 17.1 (30th) 25.9 (17th)

This seems pretty self explanatory - the Wolves were terrible offensively and average defensively. It's interesting to note both the Wolves ability to make and limit 3PM - however the Wolves ability to make the 3 came at the expense of getting to the FT line and high % shots in the lane as our poor OEFG% indicates. The Wolves FO is hopeful a increased inside presence in Udoka Azubuike (acquired from the Orlando Magic in a midseason trade) and increased roles from Slam Dunk Champion Darius Bazley and Jamal Crawfor.. I mean Nickeil Alexander-Walker will improve those #'s. Another huge area of concern for the Wolves is their high TO%, fueled almost entirely by PG duo Tyus Jones and Frank Jackson. Taking better care of the ball next season will be imperative if the Wolves want to improve offensively. Interesting to note Cameron Johnson's TO% of 10.1 despite a USG% of 26.2 - strong #s for the 2nd year wing. Defensively the Wolves ran teams off the 3 pt line and funneled teams to Gorgiu Deng at the beginning of the season with good success, and to the aforementioned UA with ok success later in the season. In general the Wolves struggled to rebound the ball and will need to look for outside reinforcements to improve in that are next season with CSL level bigs high on the Wolves FO shopping list this offseason.

Things I like :

Cameron Johnson's year 2 improvement. Cam made a huge jump from his rookie season with improved #s across the board and appears to be trending towards a future all star.

Darius Bazley. Not a lot was expected from the extremely raw and gangly 18 yo when drafted 18th overall out of high school. He showed flashes of a high flying game that can overwhelm defenses with his pure athleticism this season, and games where he looked really overmatched. The future is bright for this kid, maybe even higher than Cam, as he will work hard to tighten up his handles and improve his 3pt shot this coming offseason.

Kevon Looney. The veteran big (who is somehow only still 25?) enjoyed his first extended run in the starting lineup in his career, and produced a steady offensive and defensive game night in, night out. His consistency was badly needed on this team of young pups.

Things I don't like :

Frank Jackson's turnovers. The young PG was signed from Brooklyn in the offseason and handed the starting PG job and really struggled with turning the ball over this season at 3.5 per game. Some of his struggles has been blamed on HC Randy Wittman's offensive strategies and deployments leaving the young PG in difficult positions, but improvement will be mandatory from Jackson for him to take the next step in his game.

Darius Bazley's 31.7 touches/36 min. The young phenom was very passive during his time on the court which is expected when just learning the ropes as a young player. But those touches will have to improve, and Bazley will have to be more assertive for Bazley to reach his potential.

Udoka Azubuike's 6.6 ORB%. The 6'11 280 lb big man plays exclusively in the paint and really struggles to grab OREB. Coming out of Kansas scouts wondered if he would ever have the instincts to OREB, and it appears those reports are true.

User avatar
cb4raptorscb4
Commissioner
Posts: 2327
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 8:19 pm
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Minnesota Timberwolves Season Review

Post by cb4raptorscb4 »

Worst offense in the league, but average defense like you said.

Johnson made some good strides this season, so it will be interesting to monitoring his efficiency in the coming seasons. #4 + cap space and some more developing.. you have a pretty decent start to the build.
Golden State Warriors
Kris Dunn | PJ Dozier | Ding Yanyuhang | Kevon Looney | Chimezie Metu
Devonte Graham | Nimrod Levi | Tariq Owens | Johnny Hamilton
'23: 34-48 (5-8 as GM)
'24: 40-42, 1st Round Exit
'25: 50-32, Championship Round Loss (4-3)
'26: 48-34, 1st Round Exit
'27: 44-38, Missed Playoffs
'28: 39-43, 1st Round Exit
'29: 57-25, Championship Round Loss (4-2)
'30: 48-34, Conference Finals Loss (4-1)

User avatar
Flaming Homer
Commissioner
Posts: 5665
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2018 6:31 pm
Contact:

Re: Minnesota Timberwolves Season Review

Post by Flaming Homer »

Little steps!! I like your patience and all the small moves you did.
Always keeping all options open and waiting for the right moment. And until then develop the young player.
Talking about developing young player, Johnson looks more and more like a total stud and corner stone for the Wolves. What a season he had.

I hope you can find a fitting future piece with #4 and improve a bit more!

User avatar
TheTwoWallaces
Senior Vice President
Posts: 1981
Joined: Thu May 23, 2019 4:31 pm
Contact:

Re: Minnesota Timberwolves Season Review

Post by TheTwoWallaces »

with the way this draft is shaping up, you guys could land the draft's best player at #4. With another high lottery pick next season, eventually you guys will start to have something closer to a CSL roster on your hands

Also I'm super curious to see how Bazley and NWA turn out. What unique players. Good luck man!
DETROIT BASKETBALL

Krejci | Campazzo
Porter | Notice | King
Kispert | Martin
Johnson | McDaniels
Wiseman | Stewart | Petrusev

User avatar
AlexS
General Manager
Posts: 916
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2019 3:14 pm
Contact:

Re: Minnesota Timberwolves Season Review

Post by AlexS »

cb4raptorscb4 wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 11:19 pm Worst offense in the league, but average defense like you said.

Johnson made some good strides this season, so it will be interesting to monitoring his efficiency in the coming seasons. #4 + cap space and some more developing.. you have a pretty decent start to the build.
Thanks! Things are slow but steady but headed in the right direction. Year 3 will be huge for Cam. He did well with more shots this year, but I probably don't want him to shoot too much more. I can always pair him with NAW, than he will never get any shots! haha

User avatar
AlexS
General Manager
Posts: 916
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2019 3:14 pm
Contact:

Re: Minnesota Timberwolves Season Review

Post by AlexS »

Flaming Homer wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 11:59 pm Little steps!! I like your patience and all the small moves you did.
Always keeping all options open and waiting for the right moment. And until then develop the young player.
Talking about developing young player, Johnson looks more and more like a total stud and corner stone for the Wolves. What a season he had.

I hope you can find a fitting future piece with #4 and improve a bit more!
He is a cornerstone indeed. The perfect player to get the +10/+5 boost with his ++ defense and shooting. #4 will be interesting - there are a few different ways I can see 1-3 play out and a lot of different players who could be worthy of the pick. I'm excited for the draft!

User avatar
AlexS
General Manager
Posts: 916
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2019 3:14 pm
Contact:

Re: Minnesota Timberwolves Season Review

Post by AlexS »

TheTwoWallaces wrote: Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:39 am with the way this draft is shaping up, you guys could land the draft's best player at #4. With another high lottery pick next season, eventually you guys will start to have something closer to a CSL roster on your hands

Also I'm super curious to see how Bazley and NWA turn out. What unique players. Good luck man!
It's fun looking back at players and seeing where they were drafted, top 1-2 picks are not always locks to being superstars (Doncic and Zion withstanding) so I agree #4 could be a great player!

I am too! I'm really excited to see what Bazley turns into - his athleticism/size, handles and shooting are a really unique combination. For NAW finding the right role/lineups and preferences are going to be key, he could be Monk-lite-lite in his scoring + efficiency. Realistically I think he becomes prime Jamal Crawford as a 6th man.

User avatar
rh0xxy
CSL Champ 2025
Posts: 3211
Joined: Fri Jul 11, 2014 5:02 am
Contact:

Re: Minnesota Timberwolves Season Review

Post by rh0xxy »

I am ashamed leaving this team in a terrible position a while back. Good thing, they got a really patient and dedicated GM in AlexS. Good luck, man and kudos for doing a good job managing this team.
Philadelphia 76ers

Depth Chart
Starters: Morant-Mitchell-Swanigan-Adebayo-Collins
Bench: Maxey-Sotto-Tsalmpouris-Liddell-Weber-Richards-Hifi
IR: Phills
2W: Houstan-Okeke

User avatar
emplep7
Commissioner & CSL Champ 2018
Posts: 6665
Joined: Fri Jul 11, 2014 5:06 pm
Contact:

Re: Minnesota Timberwolves Season Review

Post by emplep7 »

Yeah, you don't get the recognition in the GM of the Year votes since this is a slow and steady incremental improvement, but you have done as good of a job as I have seen any GM do in being patient and sticking the course. Cam Johnson is a great player who just needs another scorer near him, but you are doing all of the right things and I expect this team to be a serious contender in a couple more seasons.

My only advice would be to use these growing years to perfect the strats you want to run once your roster is complete.
Image

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests