Minnesota Timberwolves: What’s Ahead After Roster Shakeup

As the Minnesota Timberwolves get set to open up training camp with their first practice on Tuesday, fans are ready to see what this new-look Wolves squad can do together.

When league office broke out their approval stamp and finalized the trade that sent Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Anthony Bennett, Andrew Wiggins, Thaddeus Young from Philadelphia and a big trade exception, the reaction was immediately how ol’ Cleveland did it again.

My favorite speculation was via an overheard conversation on the subway one morning. That the NBA has some kind of secret affair with Dan Gilbert where David Stern and Adam Silver are making midnight trips to Ohio to hold monthly Illuminati meetings and deliver cases of extra ping-pong balls for the next draft.

The league and its fans have begun to digest the trade and get used to this sight:

So Kevin Love is no longer playing his home games in Minneapolis.

What’s the first order of business to move on as training camp opens? Probably to understand that this is a completely different team and to temper your expectations accordingly. I’m not suggesting the Minnesota Timberwolves will end up dead last in the Western Conference — that will most likely be reserved for the Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz to fight over.

I’m also certainly not suggesting the Wolves will be jockeying for playoff position come April. With Kevin Love, the Timberwolves finished 40-42 last season. So what’s in store this year? Hard to say, but here’s a look at the offseason additions and subtractions, courtesy of our own Greg Chin’s Minnesota Timberwolves season preview.

The Wolves drafted Zach LaVine with the 13th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, and Glenn Robinson III in the second round with the 40th pick. Sidenote if you don’t already know, Zach LaVine WILL win a Slam Dunk championship in the very near future.

The Wolves then acquired 2014 first overall draft pick Andrew Wiggins, 2013 first overall pick Anthony Bennett, and Thaddeus Young from the Philadelphia 76ers via the Kevin Love trade.

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They capped off their offseason additions by signing veteran guard Mo Williams to a one-year, $3.75 million deal.

Lost in the offseason via the blockbuster trade was Kevin Love (Cavaliers), Luc Mbah A Moute and Alexey Shved (76ers). A shuffling of what feels like half the roster, the Minnesota Timberwolves will be finding out exactly what kind of team they have after a tumultuous summer of loss and gain. Kevin Love accounted for a whopping 36.3 minutes per game and 14.3 win shares. Mbah A Moute (14.7 MPG) and Shved (10.5 MPG) chipped in role player minutes, providing relief at multiple positions.

It remains to be seen what role Flip Saunders will have in store for Wiggins and Bennett.

As Greg Chin points out in his preview, ESPN projects the starting lineup as:

PG – Ricky Rubio

SG – Kevin Martin

SF – Corey Brewer

PF – Thaddeus Young

C   – Nikola Pekovic

Like Greg, I have a problem with this projection as well. Sure the Timberwolves may have traded away their former franchise cornerstone, but they just acquired one of the most talented, potential-packed No. 1 overall picks the league has seen. At certain points last year, Wiggins garnered the same hype that LeBron James and Dwight Howard received.

Heck, even a #TankForWiggins trend exploded on Twitter.

(Close but no cigar, RealGM.)

What I’m trying to say is Andrew Wiggins needs to start, especially for a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves, who will be out to form their new identity. I would understand if he stuck around with the Cavs and they brought him off the bench behind Dion Waiters.

But really? Corey Brewer? No disrespect to the man, I understand he started 81 out of 82 games last year. He’s a hell of a defender and shoots at a solid percentage. But I subscribe to Greg Chin’s school of thought that he’s far better serving the Wolves by coming off the bench and leading the second unit as the clear-cut sixth man. Let Andrew Wiggins off the leash and see if he can go win himself a Rookie Of The Year award.

Earlier this month when I purchased my NBA League Pass subscription, one of my first thoughts was, “Man, I can’t wait to see Rubio and Wiggins play together.” Tickets will be sold because folks want to see Ricky Rubio toss lobs to Andrew Wiggins in person.

The people who concern themselves with revenue in the Timberwolves front office should take note here. Start Wiggins. Sell his jersey every 30 feet in the Target Center concourse. Let him try to break some rookie records and compete for ROTY. Wiggins may not be the most “NBA-ready” prospect breaking into the league this year (see Parker, Jabari) but he has serious skill.

I look forward to watching the Minnesota Timberwolves all season. Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin and Andrew Wiggins will be fun to watch as they evolve into a cohesive unit together. Here’s hoping those starting lineup projections are just slightly off.