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Kevin Durant says how he would coach the Minnesota Timberwolves

By Dominique Clare

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 7: Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives towards the basket against Kevin Durant #35 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the third quarter of the preseason game on October 7, 2015 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Thunder defeated Timberwolves 122-99. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 7: Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives towards the basket against Kevin Durant #35 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the third quarter of the preseason game on October 7, 2015 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Thunder defeated Timberwolves 122-99. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Kevin Durant does not appear to see the Minnesota Timberwolves as a threat. He does not know who is going to sacrifice on the offensive end of the floor.

Now that Kevin Durant won his first NBA championship, he is more willing to throw his opinions around the NBA. The latest comes from the Bill Simmons Podcast, where Durant discussed all of the NBA moves this offseason. With the Minnesota Timberwolves completely transforming their roster, they obviously were a large topic of discussion.

The Golden State Warriors are the team to beat in the NBA. The Wolves made a lot of moves that have them talked about as a team who can compete with the Warriors now. The Dubs have a unique roster filled with unselfish players. They have excellent ball movement and play the game the right way. Kevin Durant was one of the newest members of the team last year and blended right in despite being one of the NBA’s leading scorers before joining the Warriors.

Durant is having a tough time seeing the Minnesota Timberwolves work the way the Warriors do.

The Timberwolves upgraded their offense tremendously this offseason through the likes of Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague and Jamal Crawford. That upgrade comes after the Wolves posted the 10th most efficient offense in the NBA during the 2016-17 season. That was done primarily through Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.

Durant said the following about the improved Minnesota Timberwolves on the Bill Simmons Podcast. He ended the statement with how he would coach the Minnesota Timberwolves on NBA 2K.

"“So let’s go down the line with that. Now Teague. Can’t really shoot that well but he can play. He need the ball though. And Jimmy. He can shoot it, but he need a rhythm so he need the ball, too. Wiggins: He the same way. He need the ball. They can all score. They all good, but somebody gotta give up something….“I’m just saying somebody will have to give up something in their games in order for it to work, and I believe that they will. But Towns needs to be the guy that they get the ball to, I think, because he’s so good. Jimmy needs to be facilitating. Wiggins is going to be the guy [when] you need a basket; he’s going to be the finisher. I think. If I was coaching the team on 2K that’s how I would play it.”"

Are Durant’s points valid?

Durant does bring up some valid points. Having too many people to feed and not enough people to dish the ball can create a problem offensively. For that reason I was strongly against the Timberwolves trading for Kyrie Irving, as he is the king of needing the ball in his hands.

Teague, on the other hand, is much better at facilitating the ball than Durant is giving him credit for. Last season Teague averaged 7.8 assists per game. That would have placed him first on the Golden State Warriors, where Draymond Green was first with 7.0 assists per game. So to answer Durant’s concern, Teague is the first player that will sacrifice.

The way he would coach the Timberwolves if he was playing NBA 2K actually looks pretty good, at least offensively. Running the offense through Towns with Butler facilitating will be very challenging for opposing teams. Then, throwing in Andrew Wiggins as a go-to guy when the Wolves need a bucket will make the Wolves very hard to stop. Regardless of Durant’s advice, head coach Tom Thibodeau has the strategy under control for this team.

What Durant fails to acknowledge is that the Timberwolves also upgraded their defense. Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson are excellent defenders, while Jeff Teague is a scrappy defender. Thibodeau is a defensive-minded coach and now with better defensive players, he’ll be able implement his style more effectively.

Next: Ranking NBA teams by tiers for the 2017-18 season

The offense never was a concern with this team. Durant overlooking the potential of this team is only a benefit for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves get three games against the Warriors next season and they will be looking to show Kevin Durant just how off base he was with his comments.

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