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If The Timberwolves Rebrand, Please Do Something Original

By Aaron Mah

Mar 18, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett (21) gestures as he talks with forward Andrew Wiggins (22) on the bench during the Timberwolves 105-100 loss to Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett (21) gestures as he talks with forward Andrew Wiggins (22) on the bench during the Timberwolves 105-100 loss to Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Minnesota Timberwolves may have suffered another lottery-bound season — missing the playoffs for the 11th consecutive year — however, the morale loitering around the organization is surprisingly uplifting.

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For once, there is a foreign notion of hype surrounding the Wolves.  Led by their battalion of young pups, which includes the reigning Rookie of the Year, Andrew Wiggins, and the 2015 Slam Dunk Champion, Zach LaVine — both of whom will not turn 21 until the calendar year comfortably turns 2016.

Not to mention, Minnesota will infallibly receive the services, and the potential, of a top-four lottery pick in this upcoming year’s draft; thereby, hopefully solidifying their youthful core of Shabazz Muhammad, Gorgui Dieng, and Ricky Rubio, in addition to the aforementioned bounce brothers.

As a Wolves fan, it has been nearly 20 years since the organization has enjoyed such boundless optimism.  During the summer of 1996, Minnesota housed a rail-thin, budding 20 year-old superstar named Kevin Garnett. Meanwhile, the Kid was flanked by a multi-skilled, ultra-versatile 6-foot-10 forward, in Tom Gugliotta, and also welcomed the fourth pick overall in that year’s draft; specifically, a brash, cat-quick New York City point guard from Georgia Tech named Stephon Marbury.

The prospects of how good that core could conceivably become consumed the attention of NBA fans everywhere, earning an outflowing followers outside the state of Minnesota.  The parallels between the 1996-97 T’Wolves and next season’s rendition of the Timber-Pups are most certainly palpable.

Sure enough, to appropriately escort the Timberwolves into their new era, owner Glen Taylor — who had just purchased the franchise during that time — would give the organization a new identity. Gone were the bland jerseys and the charming Husky-looking Wolf as their primary logo; instead, the team adopted a more-vile, barbarous version to serve as their emblem, and ambushed their uniforms with a cavalcade of timber.  The team would also inject a heavy dose of modern day black into their green and blue color scheme.

Presently, the Wolves are still rocking the same aforesaid theme.  Over time, the franchise has made a few slight modifications — most notably, getting the rid of the green completely, and adding in a shade of grey to their collection of in-game uniforms.

As William Bohl of A Wolf Among Wolves and Drew Mahowald of Dunking With Wolves both have suggested, the team could sorely use a refurbished brand to usher in this new, utopian era of T’Wolves basketball.

But, as we have seen recently, NBA rebrands have suddenly become eerily homogenous.  Following the thorough renovation of the Brooklyn Nets, others have followed suit using a nearly-identical blueprint.

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    • More explicitly, both, the Toronto Raptors and the Philadelphia 76ers have based their respective rebrands on an akin design — wrapping a basketball within a ring, where a watermark of the city’s name is imprinted across said ring.

    Side note: the Sixers get bonus points, though, for their dribbling, stiff-arming Benjamin Franklin secondary logo

    Point is, if the Timberwolves were to succumb to public pressure and initiate a much-needed identity change, please avoid hiring the same designer as the Nets, Raptors, and Sixers.

    A gradual evolution back to its retro color scheme (white, green, and blue) would be nice; just nothing with a basketball and a ring — and please, no more trees.

    Next: Top 5 Games Of Timberwolves' 2014-15 Season

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