Minnesota Timberwolves: Weekend Highlights Bright Future

The Minnesota Timberwolves hit “reset” on their franchise during the offseason, especially after deciding to trade away their franchise cornerstone Kevin Love. In return, they received Thaddeus Young, Anthony Bennett, and the highly touted Andrew Wiggins.

Now, equipped with a younger team and a core group of players that features sophomores and rookies, many regarded the Timberwolves as a team with a bright future.

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The thing is – no one knew just how bright their future was until this weekend.

In the Rising Stars Challenge, the Timberwolves had three participants in the event – Zach LaVine, Gorgui Dieng, and Andrew Wiggins. All three impressed, with Wiggins winning the MVP award, Dieng adding 14 points and LaVine scoring 22 points in the showcase game.

The next night, the Timberwolves again had a representative in the Slam Dunk Contest. LaVine was far and away the best dunker of the night, scoring two perfect 50s, and reminding everyone just what he is capable of athletically.

Exhibition matches aren’t typically used as a true measurement of a player’s quality, but the fact that the Timberwolves had three participants in the Rising Stars Challenge adds credence to the notion that they are a team of the future.

Wiggins has been slowly improving as the season goes on, and after starting the season slowly, has really begun to come into his own as a player in the NBA. The comparisons to Michael Jordan have been greatly exaggerated, but he has done enough this season to prove that he has what it takes to be a superstar in this league in the foreseeable future.

Coming into the league, there were a lot of questions surrounding Wiggins’ ability to take over a game and lead a team, especially after his lackluster run in college with Kansas. However, he’s resoundingly defeated that notion, as he’s led the team in Ricky Rubio‘s absence.

On the defensive end, he’s shown that he can mix it up with some of the league’s greatest scorers – going up against James Harden, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant on multiple possessions.

He hasn’t had the meteoric rise that many anticipated, but in a largely disappointing rookie class, Wiggins has been the frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year award for most of the season so far.

LaVine, on the other hand, has shown that he still has a lot of potential that is dying to be unearthed. His minutes this season have been fluctuating, but he was getting more burn when Kevin Martin was out injured. The 19-year old still has a ways to go, but once he is able to flesh out his skill set, he could be the second coming of Vince Carter.

Even if he isn’t able to reach his full potential, there is always a place for uber-athletic players like him on NBA rosters.

Towards the end of the 2013-14 season, Gorgui Dieng was given significant minutes with Nikola Pekovic out. The Senegalese impressed, showcasing a blend of great defensive instincts and a knack of knocking down mid-range jumpshots.

He impressed so much that the organization found themselves in a quandary – they had three impressive frontcourt players in Kevin Love, Pekovic, and Dieng to fit into two starting spots.

This season, Dieng has been given more playing time, and his numbers have gone up accordingly. His per 36 minute numbers have dropped, but there’s no doubt that there is talent in this NBA body.

The Wolves have the worst record in the West this season, but as this All-Star Weekend has proven so far, their future is perhaps the brightest in the NBA.

Next: NBA Power Rankings

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Minnesota Timberwolves: All-Star Weekend Shows How Bright Timberwolves’ Future Is

By Greg Chin | Feb 17, 2015

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