Minnesota Timberwolves: 2015-16 Season Outlook

Predictions

As the year begins, Saunders prioritizes the more established players like K-Mart, Pek, Miller and KG. But as this injury-prone team gets a little more banged up (as most NBA teams do these days) and the losses start piling up, he shifts his attention to getting the younger guys like Towns, Dieng, LaVine and Muhammad as many minutes as possible in a “lost” season.

Wiggins doesn’t earn an All-Star spot, but he solidifies himself as one of the next great superstars in this league with strong two-way play, improved three-point shooting, imposing wing defense and more of the electrifying dunks we’ve seen from him over the last year.

Towns doesn’t win Rookie of the Year, nor does he blow away fans in his first season, but he also shows enough positive signs to reassure everyone that he was closer to Wiggins than Bennett on the spectrum of actually deserving the No. 1 pick. LaVine surprises everyone by making major strides in his game, similar to what we saw this offseason in Summer League.

The Timberwolves win around 25 games, setting them up for another top-5 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. Minnesota may be in store for another tough season in the win-loss column, but the tantalizing potential of Wiggins and Towns — not to mention the joy of KG being a sideline mentor — makes it far more bearable as the Wolves continue to build something special.

Next: NBA: Complete Offseason Grades For All 30 Teams

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