Minnesota Timberwolves: Offseason Brilliance or Buffoonery?

The offseason is a chance for every NBA team to replenish their little bucket of hope — some buckets hold more than others — but this offseason has been different for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Depending on who you ask, they’ve either had one of the best offseasons in the league (thanks, David Aldridge) or just meh (come on, Brad Berreman).

With the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Timberwolves went with the sure thing and drafted center Karl-Anthony Towns out of the University of Kentucky. They continued the upside theme by signing Nemanja Bjelica (whom they drafted in 2010), who happened to win the Euroleague MVP last season.

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Then, the Wolves got weird. For a young team that’s starting near the bottom of the Western Conference, they made a couple of win-now moves that you’d expect from a contender looking to add quality, veteran depth — bringing in Andre Miller and Tayshaun Prince to pair with Kevin Garnett‘s presence.

Don’t get me wrong, as there’s a lot of knowledge to impart on the rookies on behalf of Miller, Prince and Garnett, but here’s where the fork is in the road for me.

The difference between brilliance and buffoonery hinges on playing time. Let’s take a look at last season’s stats for the veteran trio, who enter 2015-16 with 49 years of NBA experience combined:

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/14/2015.

I don’t need to sugar coat it — these guys don’t have much left and what they do have can only be used in short spurts. The other problem lies with what happens if these guys do end up getting quality minutes (we’ll say 20 or more for argument’s sake).

Under no circumstances should Garnett, Miller and Prince take minutes away from Towns, Tyus Jones and Zach LaVine. Part of developing and growing as a player is getting time on the court — win or lose. Ask Andrew Wiggins about his experience last season and I guarantee he’d prefer to have played a full season and gone 16-66 instead of split time with a veteran and gone 33-49.

The true value of the veteran trio lies in the mental side of things on the court and the leadership aspect off of it. Coming out of college and then having to go through the grind that is an 82-game schedule is difficult. Staying sharp and focused all year is something that has to be learned. There’s little doubt that Garnett is the kind of guy to keep the young Wolves in check.

Head coach Flip Saunders knew this last season, which is why they brought in Garnett. Now, chucking cell phones in toilets is a rather militant leadership technique for my tastes, but that’s another story. Bringing in Miller and Prince will allow a softer, gentler leadership style that’s more nurturing than frickin’ insane intimidating.

Then, there’s the professionalism (the non-drippy-cell-phone-kind) that veterans pass onto the young crop. This goes for dealings with the media, fans and any other interaction that may occur. Guys like Miller and Prince can be invaluable when it comes to schooling the next generation about how to conduct business in the easy-to-lose-yourself NBA lifestyle.

My bucket of hope contains three major points. I hope I can get a taste of nostalgia with a vintage KG/Tim Duncan showdown (for like 15 minutes). I hope Miller shares his secrets to staying healthy with Ricky Rubio (while getting treatment). I hope Prince can show Shabazz Muhammad how to better use screens (in practice, ideally). I just hope Flip doesn’t get nostalgic and ends up stealing minutes from the young guys in order to do it.

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