Minnesota Timberwolves: What if…Jonny Flynn had never been hurt?
By Ethan Becker
Historical Context
Before we start, it’s important to understand a little bit of context for what exactly the Timberwolves were heading into as Flynn started his rookie campaign.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were coming off the best season in franchise history, both up to that date and as of writing this. They did this under the leadership of team legend Kevin Garnett, who was the best player on their team and who was awarded the NBA MVP award at the end of that season.
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Following that though, the Timberwolves went on a quick downward spiral. Minnesota’s star big man in Garnett was becoming more and more upset with the franchise (yeah, we’ve covered that a bit. Click any of these to see more), and in three seasons he’d be gone.
In the 2004-05 season, after going a fairly respectable 25-26 through the first 51 games, David Kahn inexplicably fired Flip Saunders midway through the season. Saunders had taken the team to the postseason for eight straight years and had five 50+ win seasons, including four straight.