Minnesota Timberwolves: 2015-16 Season Outlook

Three Key Storylines (cont.)

2. What Kind Of Rookie Season Will Karl-Anthony Towns Have?

The emergence of Wiggins as a bonafide superstar is what will catapult Minnesota back into playoff contention, but rookie Karl-Anthony Towns is not far behind on that list. Towns has quite possibly the highest ceiling of any player from this year’s draft class, but just how impressive will he look as a rookie?

At NBA Summer League, the top pick of the draft didn’t exactly blow anyone away, but he still averaged a well-rounded 12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. He only shot 39.6 percent from the floor, but his offense was always going to be the area of his game that needed the most work.

You know, despite what ridiculously athletic dunks like this might tell you.

The Timberwolves have a pretty crowded frontcourt with Kevin Garnett, Nikola Pekovic, Gorgui Dieng and Nemanja Bjelica. Will Saunders favor Towns and Dieng with a little KG sprinkled in to mentor the young bigs? Or will Towns, as a raw rookie with a bright long-term future, be relegated to spot minutes off the bench for awhile?

Towns is far too talented and important to this team’s future identity to be coming off the bench, but it’ll be interesting to see if he’s earning his minutes as a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate ready to contribute now or if he’s simply receiving them because he was the No. 1 pick.

Next: Storyline: This Season Is Still About Development, Right?