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Minnesota Timberwolves: 2015-16 Season Outlook

By Gerald Bourguet

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Minnesota Timberwolves
Nov 7, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Gorgui Dieng (5) and forward Shabazz Muhammad (15) talk against the Orlando Magic during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Three Key Storylines (cont.)

3. The Goal Of The 2015-16 Season Is Still Development…Right?

Make no mistake, the Timberwolves will be a better team than they were last year. They didn’t really lose anyone over the summer, they added two top-25 picks in the draft and guys like Wiggins, Dieng and LaVine are only going to get better. But even if they won’t have the worst record in the league again, they certainly won’t be a playoff team either.

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    • Bearing that in mind, how is Flip Saunders going to distribute minutes between the young players who need playing time (like Wiggins, LaVine, Dieng, Towns and Muhammad) and the more established players (like KG, Pekovic, Kevin Martin and Andre Miller)? Is there any hope for guys who need more run time to develop like Anthony Bennett and Nemanja Bjelica?

    The focus for this upcoming season should once again be giving the young guys as many minutes as possible. Injuries are never a good thing, but when they struck last season, the silver lining was guys like LaVine and Dieng getting the opportunity to prove themselves in extended minutes. Will it take more injuries for Saunders to arrive at that point this season?

    Garnett is the greatest player in the franchise’s history and it’s perfectly fitting that Minnesota brought him home to finish out his career. But KG really shouldn’t be playing more than 15-20 minutes a night, since his primary role at this point should be serving as a mentor for Wiggins, Towns and Dieng.

    There’s a definite need for locker room leadership on a young team like the Wolves, and nobody wants to see a ton of losses even if it does involve developing the rawer players. But if guys like Pek and K-Mart are logging major minutes next season, Saunders will be slightly stunting his team’s long-term growth.

    Next: Best, Worst Case Scenarios

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