Minnesota Timberwolves: 2015-16 Season Outlook

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Nov 7, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9), guard Kevin Martin (23), forward Thaddeus Young (33), forward Andrew Wiggins (22) and center Gorgui Dieng (5) huddle up against the Orlando Magic during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Best-Case Scenario

From a purely competitive standpoint, the best-case scenario for the Wolves in 2015-16 begins with Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic all staying healthy and logging big minutes, while Andrew Wiggins makes the leap in his second year as an unexpected All-Star caliber player.

Dieng is an excellent backup and Garnett is able to make it through the season while continuing to mentor the younger players. Karl-Anthony Towns is a leading candidate for ROY, Zach LaVine impresses out of nowhere, Shabazz Muhammad continues to make good on his potential and even Anthony Bennett finds ways to contribute off the bench. The Wolves win 30 games.

Worst-Case Scenario

Funnily enough, the Wolves’ actual best-case scenario is closer to their worst-case scenario from a competitive standpoint. If Saunders elects to focus on development ahead of actually winning games (which he should), giving extended minutes to guys like Towns, LaVine, Dieng and Muhammad will obviously hurt the Wolves in the win-loss column again.

However, even if Minnesota should be a marginally better team with a healthy Rubio, the Wolves will still be one of the worst teams in the league. This should result in plenty of minutes for the players that will be here for the long-term, another top lottery pick in next year’s draft and about 20, maybe 25 wins.

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