Minnesota Timberwolves: What if… Kevin Love had never been injured

2014-2015 Season

In real life, Love was traded and the Timberwolves began another rebuild. But, somehow, Saunders decides to convince Love to try one more year, and he says he won’t trade him this season, giving Love his choice of teams should he decline his player option.

During this season, Love becomes interested in the solid guard rotation that’s being built with Martin and Rubio starting, and rookie Zach LaVine coming off the bench to provide valuable minutes. The small forward slot looks nice too, with Brewer starting and Chase Budinger helping in the second-string. Still, the rotation down low is in need of work. Nikola Pekovic is a solid defender, but is injured too much to make a difference. Dieng is good, but he’s not the compliment the Wolves need.

So, seeing this and taking input from Love, Saunders makes a trade. He sends Mohammad and Pekovic to the Memphis Grizzlies for a lottery protected first round pick in the 2015 NBA draft, and a guy who they weren’t even planning on using.

That guy was Hassan Whiteside.

He’d go on to average two blocks a game, and fit perfectly down low with Love. Unfortunately, this season Ricky Rubio would suffer multiple injuries, only playing 22 games. Still, the Timberwolves go 41-41, and again find themselves just outside of the playoffs.