Timberwolves: NBA GMs Love Karl-Anthony Towns
By Jason Oliver
NBA GM’s have completed their annual survey and are head over heels in love with Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Through 48 surveyed questions, 29 of the NBA’s general managers have made one thing clear, they think the Minnesota Timberwolves are coming for them.
The Timberwolves are on the rise after what seems like an eternity in the NBA doldrums. With no playoff basketball since Kevin Garnett’s 2003-04 MVP-winning season, the possibility is finally something fans can mention without being laughed out of the room.
Throughout the survey, it became increasingly obvious that NBA GM’s love what the late Flip Saunders managed to put together before passing away in October 2015. With the talent – and endless upside to go with it – the Twolves are towards the top of League Pass Rankings everywhere and gaining a plethora of admirers with Karl-Anthony Towns being the most adored of them all.
Given the opportunity to pick one player to start a franchise, 48.3 percent of votes went to Towns, ahead of established and future Hall of Fame players Kevin Durant (20.7 percent) and LeBron James (17.2 percent). His versatility, maturity and all-around skillset has GM’s going giddy for the 20-year-old who is also the second favorite (13.8 percent) behind Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns (31 percent) to make 2016-17 a breakout season.
On the back of a rookie year posting averages of 18.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, Towns looks set to improve on those numbers. Basketball Reference has him getting close to 21 points and 12 rebounds per-36 minutes.
Towns wasn’t a lone wolf in the breakout season discussion. Forward Andrew Wiggins came in joint fourth alongside D’Angelo Russell with 6.9 percent of the votes. Only nine months older than Towns, Wiggins enters his third NBA season and will look to solidify himself as a leader, and one of the NBA’s better small forwards.
Towns and Wiggins aren’t the only ones poised for big things in 2016-17. Rookie Kris Dunn is the favorite to win the Timberwolves their third straight Rookie of the Year award.
Coming out of Providence where he averaged 16.4 points and 6.2 assists last season, GM’s also fancy Dunn to be the second best player of the 2016 rookie class in five years time behind Ben Simmons.
At 22 years of age, Dunn is regarded as one of the most NBA ready guys coming into the league and is a genuine chance of making a formidable instant impact.
The love for Dunn doesn’t end there, either. GM’s also have him as one of the steals of the draft behind 29th pick Dejounte Murray.
With their undying love for Towns, Wiggins and Dunn out in the open, GM’s have backed the Timberwolves (56.7 percent) to be the most improved team of the season ahead of the Utah Jazz (23.3 percent) and New York Knicks (10 percent).
After finishing 13th in the Western Conference with a 29-53 record in 2015-16 it’s quite likely they see the biggest jump in wins this season, especially if everyone continues to remain healthy. As the leaders and main sources of production for this team, Towns and Wiggins have only missed one game between them in their combined three seasons. The more time spent on the court, the more experience they get and the better players they become. Having those two play 82 games apiece will ensure they certainly don’t end with a worse record in 2016-17.
An improved defense also looks set help the Timberwolves get a few more in the ‘W’ column as new coach Tom Thibodeau sits atop the list of coaches regarded as having the best defensive schemes. After finishing last season 28th in defensive rating, climbing that ladder will no doubt be the first thing Thib’s drills into his youngsters.
Thibodeau’s defensive schemes and history of getting the most out of young players like Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler has GM’s also thinking he makes the biggest impact of all the new or relocated coaches. With a reputation for pushing young players to their max physically, there’s a good chance we see more of Towns and company on the court than we did in 2015-16 under interim Sam Mitchell.
Timberwolves players weren’t missing in the miscellaneous categories either. Zach LaVine is considered the third most athletic guy in the league; Ricky Rubio the third best passer.
Far and away the most mentioned young team in the survey the Timberwolves look set for greatness should they keep this core together. The GM’s have a decent reputation in being fairly accurate so even if only a handful of the pro-Timberwolves predictions reign true, becoming a legitimate Western Conference threat might be just around the corner.
Next: Top 10 Candidates For NBA's 2016-17 MVP Award
With still a lot of work to do, the playoffs are a chance this season but are far from likely. Regardless of their playoff threat this season, signs of greatness are showing and even though opposing GM’s are expecting them, there might be nobody that can stop this team once it hits its peak.